Evolution Disillusion
by Reverie Wilde
Summary: A follow-up to my story, IGGY Summary is in the Prologue Max is ready to have a baby, Ella gets to know her dad, Gazzy has a couple of problems to work out and Nudge wants to go to school-again. FAX, IGGYxOC, OCxOC rated for language/adult themes
1. a heart to heart

**Hi all! Welcome to another Maximum Ride fanfic. This story takes place after my first story, Iggy. I will include a prologue here to set the story up for those who have not read Iggy. However, I recommend reading it because I won't be able to do my new characters justice in a summary. And they are very important to the story. If you have read Iggy, you can skip down to chapter one. Lucky you. If not, read on (please)**

**This story takes place approximately two and a half years after Fang. Here's what happened (in my head) in that time.**

**One year after Fang left the flock, Max finally decided to give Dylan a chance. Their relationship was sweet and comfortable (and chaste), but short-lived when Fang came back into the picture. Meeting in secret, Fang told Max all about the new flock he and Jeb found, and that Fang was training them in order to join the original flock. The goal was to defeat Dr. Gunther-Hagen once and for all. They were originally cloned at the same time as Dylan and meant as counterparts for the old flock.**

**The new flock consists of :**

**Miranda: A Max clone with red hair and just as bad an attitude, a bit on the cold side, she was created for Fang. One of her special talents is her ability to project her pheromones on others to attract them. Didn't work on Fang, but worked on Dylan.**

**Dani: African American beauty, very bold personality, not the least bit shy. Very curious about Iggy (for whom she was created btw) and how he gets around so well being blind, she finds herself attracted to him-and the feeling is very mutual.**

**Jump: Nudge's intended, he can feel what others are feeling and sometimes takes on their emotions. He can also transfer his emotions through touch if they're strong enough. Gets him into a bit of trouble :) Nudge hates him in the beginning as he's not very likable, but really, he's just misunderstood.**

**John: A telepath like Angel, he's more easy going than some of them. Unfortunately, his character took a back seat in Iggy, so I will try to develop him a little further here.**

**Birdie/Sunny: The most abused of the new kids, she is shy and untrusting at first. Like Fang, her appearance is very dark. Finally opens up to her new "sisters". Though she was created for Gazzy, they very rarely interact in Iggy. Again, too much going on to explore this character fully.**

**The new flock joined the old and eventually became one group, but one of them was a traitor who almost gave them up for a normal life. Dani was in cahoots with Dr. G-H, but when it came down to it, she saved them all from his evil clutches.**

**But, oops, she turns up eight months later with a special surprise for Iggy, due in about a month. The first natural born bird-kid is born amidst chaos and kidnapping attempts by a new scientist. Meanwhile, Max almost dies, prompting her and Fang to get married quick. Coming back from their honeymoon, Max discovers that Dani and her baby have been kidnapped. The flock springs into action to rescue them, inadvertently reuniting Dr. M. and Ella's allegedly dead dad. More heart stopping action later, the flock heads to the Middle East to get rid of Itex permanently. The plan goes off with only one hitch-Dylan dies saving Max and Iggy.**

**One to Chapter One . . .**

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"I had an ultrasound today. So far everything is fine. My mom said it's a girl. I can't believe in a month I'm going to be somebody's mom. I know I've been like a mom to Nudge, Gazzy, and especially Angel. You know, she was practically a baby when we left the School and I helped raise her, even though I was only ten. I'm so nervous. What if I really stink at being a mom? What if she doesn't like me? Dani says not to worry. She says it comes naturally." I laughed. "The only thing that comes naturally to me is fighting. Oh God, if she's anything like me, we'll be at each other's throats constantly." I laughed again. Not that it was that funny. 'Cause it was a real possibility.

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know. And, if it's okay, we're going to name her after you. Dylan Valencia Ride. How does that sound? It may not be a traditional girl's name, but then neither is mine." I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I lay a small bunch of wildflowers on the grave.

"I really miss you. I wish . . . it doesn't matter what I wish, I guess. I just _really_ miss you," I sighed. I got up from my kneeling spot. It was getter harder to spring up like I used to. Flying was strange, too. It felt like an invisible force was gently trying to tug me back down.

"By the way, Jeb finally got the rest of the flock's paperwork. You know, birth certificates and stuff. There was a lot of red tape to get past. So both flocks are now officially people. Including you." I closed my eyes, hoping to quell the tears. My voice continued in a whisper, "So now Jeb is working on a death certificate."

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and turned to see a watery looking Fang next to me. I blinked a few times to clear my vision.

"You shouldn't do this to yourself. You're an emotional wreck as it is."

"I know. But I wanted to tell him a few things."

Fang frowned and gave me the same worried look he'd been giving me for the past six months.

"I know he can't really hear me, Fang. But I feel better talking to him anyway. I don't want us all to forget him."

"That won't happen. I thought that was why we're naming her Dylan." Fang put his hand on my wide belly. "Come on, it's too cold out here. Are you okay to fly or should I call Jeb to pick you up?"

"I'll fly. Mom said I can't come back until after the baby's born. She's pretty much grounding me from now on because Dani went early. So this is my last chance to fly for a while."

"I'll be right beside you," Fang smiled and squeezed my hand. But the worried look never truly went away.


	2. chaos

*** Wow, I'm flattered by the response I've already gotten! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I decided that 2 totally kick-ass reviews, 3 favorites and 6 story alerts were worth a quick update. I really hope I can live up the the expectations. Please review so I know how I'm doing. **

**forgot to mention the disclaimer in the first chapter: wish I came up with Maximum Ride myself, but I didn't. I just copied it :)**

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My world went from the perfect peacefulness of soaring to utter chaos in the time it took to walk the ten steps through the front door.

"Whaaaaaa. Whhaaaaa," James was screaming at the top of his little lungs. It was so much more of a cry now that he was only a couple months shy of a year. His normally tan little face was bright red and his beautiful gray eyes were scrunched tight. Somehow, tears managed to escape anyway.

"Just give it to him," Iggy yelled over the screaming child.

"No," Dani refused. "We can't just give in every time James demands something."

"It's just a cookie, Dani. If it'll make him quiet, just give it to him."

"Sure, _now_, it's a cookie. Tomorrow it'll be another toy. And then you'll be bringing home a dog." Total frowned and growled. "And letting him stay out all night. James, I mean, not the dog."

"We did whatever _we_ wanted growing up." Iggy knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as he said it.

If only Iggy could have seen the scowl Dani gave him. He would have winced for sure. As it was, he stood with his mouth open, like even he couldn't believe he just said that either.

Dani shifted her weight onto one leg with her hands on her hips. It was her 'don't mess with me' stance. Everyone sort of tiptoed out of the way. Even James momentarily gave up his quest for a cookie.

Dani's voice held no anger, in fact it was eerily calm, "And how _was_ your childhood Iggy?" Iggy closed his eyes and slumped slightly. "Is that what you want for James? Is that what you promised him?"

"No. Of course not," Iggy answered shamefully. "You're right," he said reluctantly. He scooped James up in his arms.

"Sorry buddy. No cookie."

James looked at him, then at Dani. Finally, his lip stuck out in a pout, his body relaxed and slumped against Iggy in defeat. None of us could really say for sure, but James appeared to understand when he could push the envelope and when he couldn't. I suspected that it had to do with his ability to get into people's heads, like Angel. But I don't remember her having the same sort of insight at such a young age. In fact, truthfully, Angel didn't seem to have a grasp on that concept until she was nearly eight. Then again, she didn't need restrain herself, she could merely force someone to give in to her wishes. And though she rarely took advantage of that skill anymore, occasionally I worried that I changed my mind about something because she made me. I sincerely hoped that James would not develop that talent.

Disaster now averted, Iggy handed James off to Dani, who took him upstairs for a nap. Iggy made his way to the kitchen to begin cooking dinner. These days, Gazzy and Miranda often helped. They both showed an interest cooking and would take over simple cooking duties from time to time. Gazzy had improved greatly from his days of burning mini corn dogs and peas.

"Anything I can do?" I asked the group. Gazzy and Miranda looked at each other and smirked.

"You want to help cook?" Miranda asked.

"Why not? You're learning," I answered. "If you can learn, I should be able to, right?" She was, after all, cloned from me.

Gazzy looked like he was about to protest, but Iggy spoke up. "Okay, Max. Do you know how to chop vegetables?"

"I guess."

"Chop the carrots into quarter inch slices and the celery in thirds, lengthwise, then about an eighth of an inch," he directed.

Was he giving me such specific instructions to deter me? Or maybe he was spelling it out so I couldn't possibly screw it up. Either way, I was determined to prove that I could help out in the kitchen without poisoning anyone.

Gazzy and Miranda watched me out of the corners of their eyes constantly, while they cut up onions and potatoes. Iggy braised the beef cubes and soon the stew was well on it's way. Iggy came over to where I was working and picked up a few pieces of carrot and celery.

"These feel like just the right size Max. You almost done? I'm ready for them."

"Sorry it's taking me so long to do this, Ig. I'm still working on the celery. It's harder than I thought," I admitted.

Miranda came over and took some celery and silently began chopping. She gave me a small smile. "I was pretty slow at this when I first tried it too."

Before long, all our ingredients were simmering in the huge pot on the stove.

"Now what?" I asked.

"That's the best part about stew," Gazzy told me. "It just cooks on it's own for a few hours. Now we have some free time."

I walked over to Fang in the living room when I noticed him watching me.

"What?" I asked.

"You look pleased with yourself," he smirked.

"That was the most useful I've felt in a long time," I said, patting my belly. "I've been barred from doing most of my usual activities. I miss training, and now no more flying," I pouted.

"You could pack your hospital bag and put away the things your mom brought last month," he suggested. I fake scowled at him. "You have to get yourself prepared sooner or later, Max."

I sighed. "Okay, I'll go pack a bag." I dropped my shoulders and stomped my way toward the stairs, pausing to have a silent mini tantrum and whining.

Fang laughed at me, "Very mature. Come on, I'll help you." He put his arm around me and led me upstairs.

He helped me pick out things to put in an overnight bag-p.j.s, shampoo, clothes for going home in and the most feminine outfit in the pile for the baby. It was yellow with a white fuzzy bunny on the front and a little pom pom tail on the butt. We put the rest of the baby clothes that Dani gave us into drawers. I saw no reason to go out and spend money on girlie clothes when James' old clothes were in perfectly good shape.

Glad to have the task finally finished, reality was beginning to really sink in. "I'm scared." I turned to Fang. "Isn't that stupid? I fell off a canyon cliff, had broken bones, been shot, willingly walked into danger countless times, and I'm scared of having a baby."

"It won't be as bad as you think," he tried to reassure me. "You'll be in a hospital, they can give you some good drugs," he smiled. "I'll be there and your mom, too." He was really trying.

"But you weren't there when James was born. You didn't see it. I'll never forget that sight."

"I remember what you told me." He pulled my head to his shoulder. "It'll be all right."

Easy for him to say. He would never have to face this. With all the tampering those damned scientists did, they couldn't fix it so that the guys had to have babies? Of course not, what was I thinking, most of the scientists were men.

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**not a whole lot to this chapter-just call it foreshadowing :) **


	3. scheming

*** Thank you to all the readers out there, especially NightOwlGirl and Turtlelover0511 for reviewing-twice! :) And thanks to those who added me to their favorite authors list. (so flattering!) **

**I'm ashamed to admit that I never quite figured out exactly how old Ella is supposed to be in relation to Max, so I took some liberties with this story. At this point, Max, Fang, Iggy and Miranda are all roughly 18, Dani-17, Jump-16, Nudge-15, Gazzy-13, John-12, Angel-11ish, Sunny-10 and Ella-15. Of course, these are all rough estimates as none of the flock seems to know precisely how old they are, lol. Anyway, I know you are waiting for Max to have the baby, but that's not happening for about 6 more chapters. I'll try to keep updating quickly, though. And as always, feedback is welcome.**

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"Max," Nudge began tentatively. "Um, we need to talk to you." Nudge stood along side Gazzy and John.

I looked at the three of them. What could the they possibly have in common that they all need to talk to me about? I sat in the recliner, a plate of Mom's chocolate chip cookies balanced on my belly.

"Okay, hit me," I said, smiling. I was actually having a good day. My back didn't hurt at the moment, my feet weren't too swollen and of course, I had cookies.

"Well, we've been talking and, um, now that the Itex thing is over and we haven't had any trouble for a while . . ." Nudge hesitated.

"Spit it out, Nudge."

"We want to go to school," Gazzy interjected.

"Really?" I asked incredulously. "You, Gazzy? You never asked before. You too, John?" Nudge has always wanted to attend school, so I wasn't surprised at all there. But John and Gazzy?

"Okay, what's this all about?" I asked.

"Well, Jeb said-"

"Jeb? When did you talk to _him_? And why are you listening to him?" I was inwardly furious. After fighting against Itex and winning, so many things happened. It took us all a while just to get back to _semi_-normal. Dylan's death hit us pretty hard. Jeb knew enough to stay away, to give us some space. And if he had any designs on my mom, they fell to the wayside once Roger and Ella were introduced. Roger spent a great deal of time getting to know Ella and getting reacquainted with mom. Anyone could see that he still had feelings for her. Mom was a little reluctant to allow herself to get involved again, though. I asked Jeb to steer clear of them, too, to give them time to see what would happen. Surprisingly, Jeb actually agreed. For a few months anyway. But now it sounded like he was back in the picture.

Gazzy offered up the information. "He called a few times. No one wanted to upset you, so we didn't tell you. Nudge talked to him. And Angel. He wants to stop by and see how everyone is. We told him it would be up to you."

I sighed. This was the last thing I needed. I could see by the looks on their faces that they were ready to see Jeb. I wasn't sure if I was.

"And who's idea was school?" I asked.

"He's trying to help," Nudge said. "He told me about a new school opening up just over the border in Utah. We can fly there in less than an hour, go to school and fly back every day."

"So what's so special about this school that you have to go all the way to Utah?"

"It's for kids with special needs," John said.

"You mean like, learning disabilities? You guys don't have learning disabilities." I was missing something.

"No, not exactly," Nudge explained. "It's for people like us. Experiments that have been found around the country. Around the world, really. Kind of like the school in X-Men," she laughed. "Remember those kids and things we released in New York. Jeb has come across some of them. That's what he's been doing the past few years, trying to round up all the misfits. To help them. Unfortunately, not all of them can pass for human like us, so they built a place for them to live."

"What, like a commune?" I asked.

"You make it sound like a bad thing," John said.

"I'm a little skeptical. It sounds too much like a convenient way to keep them in captivity," I said drily.

"No, Max, they have a choice. And they're building a school, so we can learn about stuff and maybe get jobs when we're older," Nudge sounded so domesticated.

"What kind of jobs? You're a little young to be thinking about that already, aren't you?"

"Fifteen's not that young. I should be in ninth or tenth grade already. We can't learn everything from the internet, you know." Nudge continued. "I think I'd like to be a teacher someday. Maybe even at this new school."

Wow, Nudge was really becoming an adult. She was actually thinking of the future. I guess I took too long to comment because Nudge kept on talking. Not that it was unusual for her to keep talking.

"It's going to be run like a real school, Max. And a lot of the scientists are going to send their kids too. Normal kids that already know about us. They're gonna have after school clubs, dances, music lessons, plays." She clasped her hands together, almost in prayer. "Pleeeease, can we go? Please, Max?"

"Why is this my decision?" I asked.

Gazzy laughed, "Jeb knows better than to go over your head."

"Yeah, got that right," I agreed. But then I remembered my earlier thought, Gazzy's never expressed an interest in going to school. Of any kind. I focused on him. "So why all of a sudden do you want to go?"

"Um," he stammered. "You know, what Nudge said. John and I want to learn stuff too. Maybe I can take a cool chemistry class and really learn about explosives. Or math, so I can keep track of money when I finally get my own." That's the Gazzy I know, he's after the material goods. "And, um, plays and stuff sound fun." I wasn't totally convinced of his motives.

"Hmmm. John?" I figured I may as well ask him too.

"Well, I haven't been around that long. And you guys talk about things I don't know, and I feel like I should know. I'm supposed to be, like twelve or something and I don't know _anything_. Jeb said I could get a little tutoring, then start in seventh grade in the fall. Most of us will need extra help to catch up. The mutants anyway. The normal kids are going to help us." The way he said the word normal tugged at my heartstrings. (Yes, I have them) He looked down, as if he were embarrassed by his circumstances. He probably felt stupid. I know I did sometimes and I knew a whole lot more about life than him.

"Just you guys? What about Angel and Sunny?" I asked.

"Angel doesn't think she needs to," Nudge answered. "And Sunny is afraid."

"But I bet I can get her to come, too," John added.

"So when does this school open?" I was almost afraid to ask because it sounded like I was going to say yes.

Nudge was barely containing her excitement. "In a few months. Some of us are going to summer school before it officially opens at the end of August."

"You sound like you've already made up your mind, Nudge."

"I reeeally want to go, Max. But if you say 'no', I won't. I want to go with your blessing."

Oh, jeez, what am I, the messiah? What a guilt trip. How could I possibly say no after the puppy dog eyes she was giving me?

"And Jeb thinks it's going to be safe?" I asked. "That's my only concern."

Nudge bit her lip and really tried hard not to jump up and down. "Roger is checking it out too. Maybe even Ella will go. It might be a little far for her. They're not sure yet." Her smile lit up the room. She finally played her trump card.

I was too tired to talk about it anymore. I wanted a nap and Nudge wasn't going to give up. Besides, some of us should appear to have some brains.

"Of course, Ella would be one of the tutors, 'cause she already does so well in school and-"

I put my hands up and cut her off. "Okay, okay, you sold it already. Yes, you can go. It actually sounds like a good idea. As long as it's safe."

She threw her arms around my neck, "Oh thank you, Max. You'll see. It'll be great!"

Gazzy poked John in the ribs with his elbow. "I told you letting Nudge do the talking was the way to go," he whispered.

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*** I decided to explain the new school in conversation because I thought just describing it would be less fun. Hope you liked it.**


	4. the talk

*** This is a short chapter, sorry. Still setting up story lines. I swear, Max will have her baby soon enough. Just a few more chapters to go :) It'll be worth the wait! Thanks for the reviews!**

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I waddled into the kitchen to grab some breakfast. Although, I already looked and felt as if I had eaten a basketball. It seemed like I was always eating. But I could only eat a little at a time and I was always hungry. Yet full at the same time. It was so frustrating. I had just peeled a banana when Gazzy, Angel and Jump walked into the kitchen.

"Hey guys," I said.

"Hey Max," Jump answered. "We're going to fly to the store. Wanna come?"

Angel elbowed him, whispering, "She's grounded, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," he apologized. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm good. My mom's bringing some stuff today," I answered. "She's coming to give me the once over, just to make sure everything's okay." I paused. "Don't be too long you guys. She might want to take a look at all of you while she's here."

"What?" Jump panicked. "She's not examining me."

"Me neither. Not like a physical." Gazzy chimed in.

"Why not?" I asked, puzzled.

They looked at each other, as if their reasons were so obvious.

"I'd rather have a man doctor for that. No offense to your mom. She's great for patching us up and stuff" Gazzy finally said.

"Oh, yeah. I guess so." I realized.

I'd never thought of that before. Not that we really had much in the way of medical care after leaving the School. Jeb was around to do the cursory inspections, but we never really got sick. Just beat up. Mom took care of us after we met her. Come to think of it, Iggy, Fang and Gazzy did seem to avoid visits to Mom's office.

Mom showed up with some of the same supplies we needed for Dani, just in case I had to give birth at home. That thought made me shiver. But I had every intention of having this baby in a hospital, with lots of drugs and doctors and nurses. Mom also brought diapers, blankets and more baby clothes, pink ones. It was becoming all too real for me.

After giving me a clean bill of health, Mom asked about the rest of the flock. I told her what Jump and Gazzy said about having a male doctor. She suggested Roger.

"We should schedule everyone for a thorough exam in my office soon. When was the last time anyone had a physical? Besides you and Dani, that is. The school is going to require one for Nudge, John and Gazzy," Mom told me. The plan to go to school was out in the open, although Ella still wasn't sure she wanted to leave the school she was currently attending.

"Good luck with that," I laughed. I noticed Gazzy lingering by the front door. They were back from the store.

"It's okay to come in. She's not going to attack you with a stethoscope," I said. He put a bag of groceries on the counter.

"Hi, Dr. M."

"Hi, Gazzy," Mom smiled.

"Can I talk to you?" He said to Mom. He looked at me kind of funny, so I shuffled to the counter and started to put the groceries away, so he and Mom could have a little privacy. But I was dying to know what they were going to talk about. Didn't he just tell me that he wanted a male doctor? By then, Angel and Jump came in with two more bags of food. I heard the Gasman ask to talk to Mom in his room. Now my curiosity was really piqued.

We finished putting away the groceries Angel and Jump brought in. Not sure why, I was hungry again and started taking things right back out.

"You're not going to eat all that stuff together, are you?" Jump asked.

I looked at my plate of peanut butter, green olives and cinnamon graham crackers. "What?"

He made a face.

"Well, I'm not going to make a sandwich out of it or anything," I said. Hmmm, I could though.

Mom and Gazzy came out of his room, looking kind of serious. But then Gazzy smiled and said, "Thanks Dr. M."

"Okay," Mom started. "One appointment made, nine to go. Make that ten. James needs a check up too."

Reluctantly, everyone agreed to go to Mom's office to be seen by either her or Dr. Gates. Girls were going after hours this Sunday. Guys, the following Sunday. Everyone except Fang. He was conspicuously absent during that time.

"I'll make sure he goes with the rest of the guys. But I won't tell him until that day, so he can't disappear," I laughed.

"Actually Max, his check up can wait. I really don't want him too far away from you. Just in case. One of us needs to be here with you, if you go into labor. Dani went pretty quickly, once she started. If Jeb can't get you to the hospital . . . "

She stopped talking when I felt the color drain from my face.

"But that's a worst case scenario. It'll be fine Max." She patted my arm. "And I'm not expecting you to go as soon as next Sunday."

Gazzy came up to us, thankfully, to end the conversation. "Hey, Dr. M? Is Roger going to be there tomorrow? Can I get my, um, physical exam over with?"

"I can call him to see if he has time," she offered.

"You're going tomorrow? Why?" I asked.

Gazzy blushed. "None of your business," he snapped. Then his face softened a bit. "I . . . it's personal."

"Okay. Sorry. Didn't mean to pry," I tried to sound casual, but inside I was dying to know what was going on.

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***I bet you're dying to know, too. hee hee**


	5. reconnection

*** Thank you for the reviews! My other story is getting some renewed life as well, thanks to this one. We're taking a little side trip into Dr. M's world in this chapter. Poor thing doesn't usually get much attention. Sorry for still leaving you hanging with Gazzy, but that story line won't be resolved for a little while :)**

**Thanks for reading and (hopefully) reviewing**

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Ding Dong

"I'll get it, Mom!" Ella yelled from the living room. Dr. Martinez was in her bedroom changing for the fifth time. Though had been over many times to see or pick up Ella, this was the first time she was making diner for him. She felt like a schoolgirl on a first date.

"It's not a date," she said out loud. "He's here for Ella."

There was a light knock on her door. "Mom? Roger's here. Should I set the table?"

"Thanks honey. I'll be right out," Valencia called. She quickly put her pearl earrings in and gave her make up one last check before heading into the living room. Roger stood from his place on the couch as she came into view.

"Roger, good to see you," Valencia smiled.

"Thank you for inviting me," Roger smiled back. "You look lovely." He hadn't meant to actually say that out loud, though he was certainly thinking it. And he _definitely_ didn't mean to say it so breathy. He stole a quick glance toward Ella in the kitchen, who had a big grin on her face.

"Thank you," Valencia said quietly.

Roger broke through the ensuing awkward silence, "Do you drink wine? I didn't know what you were serving, but I brought red." He handed her the bottle. She drank wine occasionally and this was one she liked.

"This is perfect. We're having roast beef," Dr. M. was glad for the company of another adult with whom to enjoy the wine. She imagined the two of them sitting in front of the glowing fire, enjoying the ruby red drink. . . she nearly had to physically shake the image out of her head. He was here to see Ella, she reminded herself. The two of them made a point to get together at least twice a month to get to know each other-usually on neutral territory. Dr. Gates had occasionally picked Ella up at the house and made small talk with Dr. Martinez. Lately, the visits had been more often.

It was strained and awkward in the beginning. Dr. Gates didn't take the news well that he had been shut out of his daughter's life for the first thirteen-almost fourteen- years. As fond as his memories of his relationship with Dr. M. were, they couldn't overshadow the hurt he felt by her betrayal.

After the threat of Itex was no longer being held over his head, he began to cautiously pursue a relationship with Ella. It helped a great deal that she was willing, eager even, to get to know him. They found that they shared many interests, hobbies and quirks. Not the least of which was their penchant for wearing sneakers with any outfit-from jogging suits to formal attire. Dr. Gates chuckled the first time he saw a picture of Ella and some boy at her first semi formal dance. She wore a beautiful sleeveless periwinkle dress with a scoop neck and a delicate silver necklace. On her feet were a pair of off white bejeweled bobo sneakers.

As much as she had in common with her mother, Ella was comforted to know that her debilitating fear of spiders, love of lateral thinking puzzles and compulsion to keep her knickknacks and book collections in alphabetical order came from somewhere beyond her control. And while Mom was grace under pressure, there was little that fazed her (much like her first born), Ella vacillated between being unfocused and hyper focused. She could really relate to Dr. Gates.

Gradually, Dr. Gates became Roger. Dr. Martinez became Valencia. Perhaps one day Roger would become Dad. But that was probably a long way off. For the time being, they were all comfortable with the way things were. Especially Ella. It was cliche that she wanted to see her parents reunite so they could be a happy family, true. But wasn't that every kid's dream whose parents had split up? Well, almost. It was probably Max's biggest nightmare. Ella would rather see her mother with Roger instead of Jeb as well. In fact, she was planning to help them along.

Dinner went smoothly for the most part. The whipped potatoes were slightly lumpy, but melted in their mouths with the homemade gravy puddled on top. Ella chose lima beans, one of her favorites, as the vegetable. Roger commented that they were one of his favorites too.

They kept the conversation light, talking mainly about Ella's school work and friends and Valencia's veterinary practice. After the holidays, there had been a number of abandoned animals. It was a phenomenon she witnessed every year at this time. Parents would give in to their children's wishes for a pet, only to later decide that it was too much work. Just this week alone, three animals were left on the office front steps.

After dinner, Ella jumped up, offering to do the dishes and practically pushing Roger and Valencia into the living room with their wine.

"I'll bring dessert in when I'm finished the dishes," Ella smiled. Of course, she was going to take her sweet time with the dishes. She figured she'd give them time to talk together for a change. Usually it was Roger and Ella alone. They'd had some fairly in depth conversations. She told him about some of her hopes and dreams, likes and dislikes-she even told him about her brief crush on Iggy before Dani came into the picture. Ella was kind of regretting that one, but her goal was to steer the conversation towards his intentions regarding her mother. Roger didn't take the bait.

Peeking around the corner, Ella was pleased to see her mom and Roger sitting on the couch together. Not exactly close, but on the same piece of furniture. She went to the sink and began washing the dishes by hand, knowing that it would take a lot longer than loading the dishwasher.

"This wine is one of my favorites," Valencia commented.

"Mine too," Roger agreed. "I'm not really much of a connoisseur, though. My old lab mate, Evan, says it's crap. But he takes at least two trips a year to Napa Valley." He rolled his eyes at his own use of the word crap.

Here was Valencia, the very picture of elegance, and he was talking like a twelve year old.

Valencia stifled a giggle. "I don't drink much either and I've never been to Napa. I'll just be blissfully unaware that I have a taste for crap when it comes to wine."

Roger smiled gratefully, then changed the subject. "Where do you usually vacation, if not Napa?"

"Well, Ella and I haven't vacationed much at all. My practice has kept me busy and since we met Max and the rest of the flock, life has been a roller coaster." She paused pensively, wondering how much Ella had missed out on by not being in a traditional family. "We've been to the Grand Canyon, though. And we've explored a good deal of the Arizona countryside. I would like to do more traveling with her before she goes off on her own. I guess I've missed the boat on Disneyland," she laughed.

"Oh, you're never too old for Disney," Roger said excitedly. "I've been there twice and I don't even have kid-"

They sat in silence for a moment, neither one looking in the direction of the other. Valencia was the first to speak.

"I'm so sorry," she said quietly. They'd glossed over the subject, but they both knew they'd have to talk about it sooner or later.

Valencia opened her mouth to elaborate, but Roger began before she could get another word out.

"Valencia, I understand why you did what you did." He swallowed before continuing. "I was angry at first. Really angry. I missed out on so much of Ella's life. And now that I've gotten to know her somewhat, I feel that loss even more."

Valencia hung her head. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Knowing how she herself felt when she found out about Max only intensified her guilt.

Roger placed his hand on hers. "I didn't say that to make you feel bad, or worse." He removed his hand and went on. "But I thought about what my life has been like the past fifteen years. There was no room for a woman, much less a child. My work kept me so busy, the only friends I had were lab mates. I'm afraid, if I'm being honest, I wouldn't have been a very good parent anyway. I would have either been largely absent from Ella's life due to research, leaving you to do most of the work on your own, or I would have given up my research and ended up resenting the two of you."

"I wish we could have come to some sort of agreement long ago. Baby pictures aren't the same as being there. But I want you to know, that given my behavior at the end of our relationship, I don't blame you for not telling me. It's ironic that you did that to me, when the main reason I left you was because I felt you were as good as abandoning your own child when you donated your eggs to Jeb's research.

Valencia looked up. "But I didn't intend to. Jeb told me she didn't survive. He said the experiment was unsuccessful. I had planned on being involved every step of the way."

"I know that now," Roger assured her. "But still, you never sought me out to tell me about Ella."

"I-" Valencia started.

"I'm not looking for more apologies. What's done is done. I want to move forward. Ella and I have the beginning of a good relationship and I just want to keep building on that. Like I've said before, that damned '_school_' screwed up a lot of lives." He was frowning and saw that his expression was reflected in Valencia's face as well. He made a concerted effort to soften his countenance. "But here we all are now. I have a beautiful daughter. You have a grandchild on the way. The world is finally on its way to being safe. And I'm grateful that I was able to make a difference. As crazy as it sounds . . . I think I'm happy."

Valencia's eyebrows raised.

"I know," Roger laughed. "I'm all over the place with this. So much has happened, emotionally. I'm not so sure of myself."

"Well, I'm glad you're happy. Or at least think you are," Valencia laughed. "I am too. And so is Ella. It was difficult to admit I've been lying to her all these years about her father. It is good to have you around again." She looked like she was going to say more, but simply smiled.

"Dessert time," Ella sang. She figured she'd given them enough time to talk alone.

"You made coffee?" Valencia asked. "Since when do you know how to make coffee?"

"I pay attention," Ella smiled. "Don't worry, it's decaf!" she yelled as she walked back to the kitchen to get mugs and creamer.

"Very thoughtful," Roger told Ella when she returned.

"I remembered you saying that you couldn't have caffeine after noon or you'd be bouncing off the walls all night," she replied.

Valencia couldn't help giggling, "I'd like to see that."

"You have," Roger told her. "Remember the time we worked through the night trying to get the centrifuge up and running? You made a coffee run and I drank it even though I knew what would happen, just because you went to the trouble of getting it."

"I think you fixed every piece of broken equipment and reorganized the entire research library that night." Valencia laughed. Roger and even Ella began laughing, too. "You didn't get to bed until seven the next morning." Suddenly, Valencia found herself getting flushed at the memory, realizing she gave away too much in front of Ella.

Ella, catching the blush, raised an eyebrow. "And how would you know?" she asked innocently.

"Um," now Roger was blushing.

"Oh, come on, you don't have to be embarrassed. I've already figured out that you slept together. I mean, I'm here aren't I?"

Valencia's eyes widened. "Ella!"

"What? I'm fifteen. I can't talk about that stuff?"

"I guess it's pay back for all the embarrassing talks you had to sit through, huh?" Valencia groaned.

Ella picked up a cookie and took a bite. "Aren't these the best cookies ever?" she asked Roger. "Nobody makes them like Mom. Not even Iggy."

"Don't think you can flatter your way out of this one," Valencia fake-scolded, then she paused. "Better than Iggy's? Really? I thought nobody did anything better than Iggy." Valencia tossed a little embarrassment Ella's way.

Ella gasped and looked at Roger, "Did you tell her?"

Roger put his hands up and shook his head no, after shoving a cookie into his mouth.

"He didn't have to," Valencia smirked.

Ella tried to wave it off. "That's old news anyway," she insisted.

After a few moments of silent cookie eating and coffee drinking, Roger stifled a yawn.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I've been up since four-thirty this morning. I'm afraid it's getting past my bed time." He stood up and Valencia joined him. "Thank you so much for dinner and dessert. It was wonderful."

"I monopolized your time tonight. You came here to see Ella." Valencia frowned slightly.

Roger put his hand on her arm. "No, it was good to talk. I feel like we've reached an understanding. We're ready to move on."

Valencia allowed a small smile that reached her eyes. There were a few more creases around them since their younger days, but Roger still thought they were the loveliest eyes he'd ever seen.

Their goodbyes were still a little awkward. Valencia wasn't sure if she should shake his hand or just say goodbye or wave. After giving Ella a quick squeeze and a kiss on the top of her head, Roger pulled Valencia into a gentle hug and thanked her again. Then he gave her a small peck on the cheek so light it was almost an air kiss. He stood back to gauge her response. She looked sufficiently disarmed but not displeased. Ella, on the other hand, was beaming.

"Bye Roger!" Ella yelled out the door after him. "I'll e-mail you about the movies!"

Still distracted by the hug and kiss, Valencia turned to Ella. "Movies?"

"Yeah, I thought we could all go to the movies together." Ella walked past her mother and into her room before Mom could protest.

But Valencia had no intention of protesting.

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*** Only a couple of chapters until the BIG EVENT!**


	6. office visits, the girls

*** Merry Christmas dear readers! My gift to you is a chapter :) And it's a little longer, too. We'll get a little insight as to what's on the girls' minds as they talk to Dr. Martinez. I'm hoping to get to post at least two more times during Christmas break, so look for Max to be in labor at the very least before the New Year! With any luck, Dilly will even make her appearance by then.**

**btw, if you need a refresher to Miranda and Jump's story, it's in chapter 85 of IGGY**

**I love feedback, so if you'd like to give me a gift, reviews are my favorite :)**

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Miranda, Nudge, Angel, Sunny and Dani-with James on her lap-sat in Dr. Martinez's waiting room. They were arguing over who would go first. None of them wanted to.

Dr. Martinez came out of her office smiling. Maybe more like smirking.

"So, who's going first ladies?" When she got no response, she called one of them. "Miranda?"

Miranda groaned.

"Actually," Nudge spoke up. "I'll go first. I have something I want to ask you."

Nudge nervously followed Dr. M into the exam room. It smelled like a combination of cleaner and dog. Dr. Martinez gave Nudge a dressing gown, (she got them from the local hospital, because, obviously, her usual patients didn't need to wear dressing gowns) and left the room momentarily while Nudge changed.

When Dr. Martinez returned, Nudge was sitting on the examining table, feet swinging, with both hands in her lap. Dr. M drew some blood and examined Nudge thoroughly. Thoroughly enough that Nudge cringed and blushed several times. She only felt slightly better at the thought of the others having to endure the same scrutiny. Dr. M gave Nudge some privacy to get dressed again-which she found amusing considering there wasn't much Max's mom hadn't just seen already-and told Nudge to meet her in the office.

"So, everything looks fine. The blood tests are routine and I don't see any reason to send you for a gynecological exam until you become sexually active," Dr. M paused. "Many years from now." It almost sounded like a stern order.

"Send me? Like to another doctor?" Nudge asked.

"It's hardly my area of expertise and I don't have the proper equipment here. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. You said you had something you wanted to talk about, right?"

"Um, well, I was wondering. . .do I have to marry a bird boy? I mean, to have kids some day, like Dani and Max. Does it _have_ to be someone like me?"

Dr. Martinez knew she would have to explain to all of the flock eventually how they were different enough from full humans that they wouldn't be able to reproduce with them. "If you mean a hybrid, yes. And even then, it won't be a guarantee. Is there someone in particular or is this hypothetical?"

"Oh, I'm just thinking about the future," Nudge paused. "The _far_ future." She stretched the word far out to make her point. "It's just that, well, I don't have many options as far as the flock goes. If you know what I mean. And I'm going to be meeting a lot of new people in school."

Dr. M smiled, "You're right, Nudge. You will be meeting a lot of different people. And hybrids. Some may be like you. Some will be very different, even if they look like you. But you should concentrate on having fun and making friends. You're too young to be thinking about settling down just yet."

"But you're saying that to have a family some day, I'll have to find another bird kid. Otherwise, it won't work." Nudge was trying to make sure she understood the situation.

"Yes, but there are options. You should choose a partner based on values, interests and love."

"Options?"

Dr. Martinez hesitated getting into details with the fifteen year old. "Adoption, surrogacy, or in vitro fertilization. Again, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. So, let's not worry about it yet." Valencia smiled as she stood, signaling the end of their conversation.

Nudge left the office with some things to think about. Adoption? She didn't think she'd ever find a bird-baby to adopt. And what were those other two things? Oh well, she wasn't going to worry about it now. Dr. M was right. Nudge was _so_ looking forward to school and making new friends.

The other girls went into the exam room one by one, repeating the same process as Nudge. Dr. Martinez was surprised that each and every one of them wanted to talk to her afterward.

* * *

Angel was next. She sat across from Dr. M behind her desk as she matter-of-factly stated her case.

"I think school is going to be a waste of time. Max, Fang and Iggy didn't have to go."

"Angel, you should look at it as an opportunity, not a chore. If nothing else, you'll meet kids your own age. You might find a new friend or two," Valencia suggested.

"Sunny and I get along just fine. Besides, I'd rather hang out with older kids. Regular kids my age aren't all that mature," Angel complained.

Dr. M stifled the urge to chuckle, knowing that Angel was perfectly serious. "Well, many of the doctors' and scientists' kids are actually very mature for their ages."

Angel rolled her eyes.

Dr. Martinez decided to try a different approach. "Can I ask you something? I don't want you take this the wrong way."

Angel simply shrugged.

"Do you not want to go because you haven't had any formal education? Are you afraid they'll think you're not smart?"

Silence was Angel's reply.

"You know, many of the kids have been living on the streets much the same as you were. They haven't had any schooling either. And unfortunately, quite a few have never had a real family. You could actually be a mentor to some of them," Valencia proposed. "It's not all about using correct grammar or solving math equations. I hope you'll at least give it a try. The school is meant to be a support system."

Valencia thought Angel appeared to be thinking about it, which was more than she was doing when she came in.

Finally, Angel answered, "Maybe. Maybe I'll give it a few weeks."

It was more than Dr. M was hoping for.

* * *

After her exam, Miranda waited nervously in Dr. Martinez's office. She seemed much more nervous now than she did in the exam room. Her right knee bounced quickly while she twirled a strand of her red hair around a finger.

"You seem in fine health, though I wasn't really expecting otherwise." Dr. Martinez paused. "I hear you and Jump are dating."

"Yes."

"I don't mean to embarrass you, but as a doctor, I need to ask. Are you sexually active?"

Miranda blushed almost as red as her hair. "Why do you need to know?" she asked.

"I'll take that as a yes. Miranda, we've already got one baby and another on the way. Learn a lesson from Dani and Max. I want to make sure you're taking precautions. Every time. Have you been?"

Miranda lowered her head in response.

"Aye, aye, aye. Well, you've been lucky, but luck only holds out so long. I'm going to recommend a doctor for you to have an exam and discuss options. Condoms are easiest, but if you want to try-" Valencia stopped when she saw a tear fall into Miranda's lap.

"Miranda? Oh, God, you don't think you're already-"

"No," Miranda interrupted.

"Then what's wrong? Please, I want to help."

"I don't think I can," Miranda said.

"Don't think you can what?" Dr. M questioned.

"I don't think I can get pregnant. We've never used anything, ever."

The doctor in Valencia had to restrain herself from lecturing. "Well, like I said-you've been lucky. That doesn't mean there's a problem. How long has it been going on?"

Miranda hesitated. If she answered honestly, she'd have to tell Dr. M. the whole sick story. She took a deep breath, resigning herself to the fact that that's what she'd have to do.

"Off and on for three years."

Valencia's eyes widened. "What? You mean three _months_, right?"

"No." Miranda lifted her head. "I meant three years."

"But, he's only sixteen."

Miranda proceeded to tell Valencia about Ted, the sordid gambling ring and the roles she and Jump were forced to play.

When she finished, Valencia sat stunned. She was furious, wondering aloud if Jeb knew and allowed Ted contact with the flock anyway.

"We only told Max. And Dani knew because Ted used it as a threat against her. Jeb didn't know unless Ted told him. Ted is too much of a coward to do that," Miranda said.

"No wonder you and Jump were so against him helping with Dani's rescue. I wish I had known, I would have kept him out of it," Valencia said.

"Don't say that. He actually helped a lot. I guess he was really trying to make up for it. He did apologize to me before Jeb let him go," Miranda explained.

"You can't apologize or make up for something like that," Valencia muttered. "Would you like to talk to someone? Professionally, I mean. I know a few doctors who'd be able to help."

"No. It's in the past. Jump and I have talked about it. Things are good between us. And we'd rather not have too many people know," Miranda said, adding, "Despite the way we started out . . . we love each other." She blushed. She wasn't an overly emotional person and admitting out loud that she loved someone was a much bigger deal than Valencia realized. Then it dawned on Valencia that she hadn't addressed Miranda's original comment.

"So, you're concerned because you have gotten pregnant all this time?"

"Yes. Don't get me wrong, I really don't want a baby right now. Some day I would, though. But like you said, luck usually only holds out so long. I'm afraid there's something wrong with me," Miranda confessed.

"It could be Jump," Valencia suggested.

"I never even thought of that," Miranda said. "I just assumed it was me."

"We'll do some tests-on both of you. And we can go from there."

Miranda left the office feeling a little better. Not that she wanted anything to be wrong with Jump, but knowing there was a possibility that she was okay put a little spring in her step.

* * *

When it was Sunny's turn to sit in 'the chair', she sat in silence for a few minutes looking around the room. Dr. Martinez waited patiently until Sunny finally met her gaze.

"I changed my mind," Sunny said and started to get up.

"Are you sure? You can talk to me about anything. I'll keep it confidential," Dr. M. assured her.

Sunny appeared to be considering it. "Mmm, no, I don't think so." But Dr. Martinez wasn't convinced.

"Oh, okay. I think I'd have a lot of questions. So much has happened in the last year. Some of it has been hard for _me_ to process. I can't imagine how all of you kids are handling everything."

Sunny debated whether or not to bring up the subject she was interested in. She had tried talking to others in the flock, but they all seemed uncomfortable discussing it. Dr. Martinez was nice and Sunny thought she may have an answer for her.

"Dr. Martinez, I do have a question," Sunny paused. "I was wondering, if everybody misses Dylan so much, why can't someone just make another one?" It seemed to make perfect sense to a girl who'd been cloned herself.

Dr. M had a similar look on her face to those Sunny had already spoken to. Although, Dr. M was better at trying to hide it.

"Why does everybody look like that when I ask?"

"Because, Sunny, a lot of people feel that cloning people is immoral. That's one reason we tried to stop all the scientists from experimenting," Dr. Martinez explained.

"But we're all clones. My flock, I mean. Would it be better if we didn't exist?"

Once again, Valencia found herself surprised by the subject matter she was discussing with one of the girls. "No, of course not! It's difficult to explain. And you weren't simply cloned, you were enhanced-genetically manipulated into a new species."

"Well, who's to say that's wrong? Why would people be able to figure out how to do that if they weren't supposed to?" Sunny asked, not sarcastically, but genuinely.

Dr. Martinez was taken aback. "I'm not sure. But people also have the ability to kill another person. Doesn't mean they should." She tried to choose her words carefully. "I guess if you're asking me, personally, I would say the human race should be allowed to evolve on its own."

Before Sunny could point out her hypocrisy, Valencia continued. "I know, I was originally involved with the experiments that produced Max and her flock. But I was young and I was too intrigued by the science of it to realize all of the ramifications. At the time, I believed it was for the betterment of man kind. It wasn't until years later that I learned exactly what those experiments were and that lives were being churned out in alarming numbers. Most of them were disregarded, mistreated or worse, coldly terminated. I still struggle with my role at the School. On one hand, I wish the experiments hadn't been conducted-there was so much suffering. But on the other hand, there would be no Max. Or any of you. I'm so glad to have all of you in my life."

"So, you wouldn't necessarily change the past, because it all worked out for you. But you will do whatever you can to prevent-what did you call it-genetic manipulation, in the future?" Sunny's words cut right to the heart of the matter. Valencia was amazed at Sunny's insight and it cut Valencia to the quick. It was difficult for Dr. Martinez to see herself in such harsh light.

"I don't sound any better than Dr. Graham or Gunther-Hagen when you put it that way. You've given me a lot to think about," Dr. M admitted.

"Then is that why you don't think we should make another Dylan?"

Valencia sighed. "That's a little different. Physically, another Dylan could be created. He was just one of many as it was. But it wouldn't be _our_ Dylan. He was unique, even though he was a clone. He was his own person, inside. The experiences he had, the people he knew, the knowledge he acquired-all those things made him the person he was. Like Max and Miranda. They look a lot alike, and they have some similarities, but they're very different in many ways, too. Miranda is her own person. So, you see, we can't simply replace people."

"I get it," Sunny said, satisfied by Dr. M's explanation. "Why couldn't anyone else just tell me that? Angel and Nudge seemed so mad at me."

"We're all still grieving, in our own ways. I'm sure Nudge and Angel were simply uncomfortable with the idea of forgetting and replacing Dylan, even if that's not exactly what you had in mind," Valencia said. "I can talk to them if you'd like."

"No, I can handle it. Now that I understand. Thank you. I appreciate you not talking to me like a little kid," Sunny said gratefully.

"You're a very mature young lady," Dr. Martinez smiled. "And you've given me some things to think about." She watched Sunny leave her office, wondering how someone so young and inexperienced had been able to put her finger so pointedly on the very moral dilemmas Valencia had been struggling with for years, but hadn't quite been able to admit.

* * *

James wriggled on Dani's lap as she sat in the office while Dr. M looked over his chart.

"He's the picture of health," Dr. Martinez said, smiling. "And very active."

"Yeah, sometimes I wish he had an off switch!" Dani joked.

"You seem in fine health too. Do you have any questions for me? Any concerns?" Dr. M asked.

"No, not really. I've noticed that I can see a little better lately, though. And I've been having more premonition-like experiences, too." Dani informed her.

"Oh? I knew that you have been able to tell when things were going to happen a couple of times, but I didn't realize it was ongoing." Dr. M was curious. "How often does it happen?"

"I don't know, maybe five or six times in the past year. Ever since James was born. I haven't really been keeping track."

"What kinds of things do you see?"

"It's more of a feeling, not quite a voice in my head, mostly. Sometimes, I'll get a flash of a picture in my mind, like the day James was born. When the bad guys were coming, I could feel it. Dylan did too. That was a time I got an image-of helicopters-in my head," Dani told her.

"Is it always just big events?"

"No, sometimes I'll know when James is going to fall or do something he's not supposed to," Dani laughed. "I bet some day James is going to wish I couldn't do that."

"So, you can't control it?" Valencia asked.

"No. I wish I could. Maybe I would have been to save Dylan." A small gasp escaped Dani's lips. "Do you think Dylan saw it coming? He could tell when things were going to happen sometimes too. Do you think he knew and saved Max and Iggy anyway?"

Valencia thought about it. "I don't know, I think it's something he would have done. But Dani," Valencia put a hand over Dani's, "I don't want you feel responsible. I know that if you could have, you would have saved him. Don't take on guilt that isn't your to bear."

"I know," Dani replied. "I just wish, is all."

As Dani and James left her office, Dr. Martinez was pleased at how well the visits went. Much better than she had hoped. She felt she had been able to at least address all of their concerns, if not solve them. It made Valencia's heart swell, knowing she was making a difference in the girls' lives. And to have them confiding in her, trusting her, reaffirmed her feeling that all of them were becoming one big melting pot of a family. And she was their mom.

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*** the boys are next. Think Roger will have as good luck as Dr. M? hee hee**


	7. office visits, the boys

*** Now it's the boys' turn. But since Fang is with Max and Gazzy saw Dr. gates earlier (and not written in), there are only three of them. Basically, this chapter is sort of a bonding chapter between the boys and Roger. Poor Jeb better watch out or he might lose out to Roger's warmth and charm. hee hee But you never know, Jeb may redeem himself one day.**

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"Okay, let's set up some ground rules here," Iggy said before Dr. Gates even shut the door to the exam room. The others voted for Iggy to go first because they figured the first one to go would set the parameters for the rest of them. And they all knew Iggy was least likely to put up with any unwanted poking and prodding.

"Relax, it's not going to be as bad as you think," Dr. Gates reassured him. "It's not much more than a cursory exam, I promise. If you'd like, I'll warn you before I touch your, um . . . you."

Iggy reflexively put his hands over his lap on top of his backless dressing gown. He had never felt so vulnerable in his life. Or mortified.

"Uh, yeah, that's the part I'm worried about. Nobody-well, no guy-ever, you know, touched my, um . . . me."

"No guy, huh? If you prefer, I can have Dr. Martinez come in-"

"No!"

"Don't think of me as a 'guy'. Think of me as your doctor. The whole thing will be over before you know it." Dr. Gates tried his best to keep his voice calm and professional, but inside he was laughing to himself at Iggy's reaction to his suggestion about Valencia. "Besides, I'd be more worried about how cold my stethoscope is going to be. That's the usual complaint."

Iggy sighed and frowned. "Just get it over with," Iggy grumbled.

Dr. Gates performed the usual tasks of feeling glands, looking in his ears, nose and throat and listening to Iggy's heart and lungs. While inspecting Iggy's eyes, he asked, "Have you been able to see any better since you painted your room white?"

"I don't know. I think it's still kind of the same. When I'm in there, I can see some things, but it's still pretty much peripheral." Iggy shrugged. "I guess it's better than nothing."

"I think I'll do some more research on that. Maybe talk to some more eye specialists. I'm sorry I haven't been more aggressive about this. Ella has been a priority, and the new school," Roger apologized.

Iggy shrugged again. "It's not like I can't get around okay. As long as I don't lose my spidey senses," Iggy joked.

Roger was impressed with Iggy's acceptance of his condition, "But still, I want to help."

"Okay, thanks," Iggy muttered. Even though he would never be able to reverse his blindness himself, Iggy was always reluctant to accept help.

The rest of the exam revealed nothing unexpected. Other than his blindness, Iggy was in excellent health. And even Iggy had to admit the exam wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as he believed it would be. Dr. Gates spoke calmly, asking questions about James, keeping Iggy distracted from the doctor's manly hands briefly upon him.

"That was it?" Iggy asked when Roger informed him that the check-up was over.

"That was it," Dr. Gates answered. "Were you expecting me to do something else to you?"

Iggy blushed at the insinuation. It wasn't often that someone got the better of Iggy and Roger let out a little chuckle.

"It wasn't _that_ funny," Iggy said under his breath. But then couldn't help laughing himself. His anxiety had been a little over the top, he decided.

Dr. Gates threw Iggy his clothes, telling him he could get dressed, and left him in privacy. Iggy declined a meeting in Dr. Martinez's office, having had enough humiliation for one day. Although, he had to admit Roger had handled what could have been a super awkward situation with ease. And it could have been worse-it could have been Jeb.

* * *

The anxiety in the waiting room lessened greatly once Iggy had told John and Jump about his exam. Not that they were enthusiastically looking forward to it. But neither were they refusing to disrobe as they originally said they would.

Jump volunteered to go next. He not only wanted to get the exam over with, he had a question for the doctor. Dr. Gates told him he seemed in good health, but Jump still needed to know.

"So, you're sure everything is fine?" Jump asked.

"Yep, looks like you're as fit as the rest of them," Roger answered, smiling.

"You're sure _everything_ is fine?" Jump reiterated.

"Yes," Dr. Gates brow furrowed. "Is there something specific you're worried about?"

Jump's heart started to beat a little faster. He was nervous about telling the doctor about what happened to him when he was younger. It appeared to affect only his height, but Jump had always worried that the hormones with which he was loaded up could have affected him in other ways.

Jump stammered a little before finally getting the words out. "Do you know about me? I mean, what the other doctors did to me when I was younger?"

Gates didn't, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

Jump explained about the hormones used to push him through puberty leaving out the all important detail of why the doctors chose to do that to him. He wanted to spare Miranda's reputation. Fortunately, Roger accepted that Jump's former captors rarely needed just cause to conduct their experiments.

Roger sat pondering the information. "Well, physically, on the outside anyway, you appear to be normal. For a flock member," he added. "You're comparatively shorter than Fang and Iggy, but still well within the norm for human."

"What about my, um, um," Jump stammered, searching for the proper word. "My, um . . . equipment." He blushed.

Roger suppressed a smile. Of course that was what he would be worried about. What guy wouldn't?

"Perfectly normal. Actually, probably better than the average, if that puts your mind at ease."

Jump blushed again. "Oh," he said, relieved. "Does that mean it works? I mean, to have kids some day?"

Dr. Gates frowned. "You're a bit young to be planning for children, don't you think?"

"I mean down the road. But I noticed you didn't answer my question." Jump was frowning too.

Roger sighed. "Well, size doesn't have anything to do with fertility. However, it's possible that your internal organs have been affected by the hormonal changes. I could run some tests."

"Okay. Just don't tell anyone else."

"Of course not. Everything we talk about is confidential. I won't even tell Dr. Martinez."

Roger was curious as to why the sixteen year old would be concerned about fertility but decided not to press the issue. He felt it took a lot for Jump to open up as much as he did and he didn't want to scare him off.

* * *

John was still squirming, sitting across from Dr. Gates in Dr. M's office, well after his exam was over and he was fully dressed. He was still a tiny bit skeeved out, having been poked and prodded by a man he didn't know that well.

"Anything on your mind, John? Do you have any concerns?" Dr. Gates asked.

"Actually, I want to know about you," John surprised him.

"Oh. Well, you can ask me anything. I'll answer as honestly as I can," Roger paused, seeing an opportunity. "If you'll let me ask you a couple of questions."

John thought about it for a second. Ella put him up to doing some reconnaissance for her, but he didn't bargain for Gates to question him as well. But, he couldn't let Ella down. John knew she was just using his crush on her to get information out of Roger, but he felt it was worth it.

"All right," John finally answered. "As long as it's not too personal."

"Agreed," Roger said. "What would you like to know."

John decided to start out with his career. "What did you do at Genesis United? What was your job?"

Dr. Gates perked up at the question. "I was working on changing the DNA of pigs so they produce omega-3 fatty acids instead of saturated fats and cholesterol. It was quite interesting. If that had been successful, we could have begun work similar changes in other meat products. I guess the lab never got back up and running, though."

"Yeah, yeah," John interrupted. "That's not really what I wanted to know about anyway."

Roger raised an eyebrow. "Cut to the chase, then."

"How's it going with Ella?"

Roger smiled at the mention of his daughter. "Very well, thank you. We've been getting to know each other. And you're interested, why?"

Ignoring Gates' question, he continued, "What about Dr. M?"

"What about her?" Roger tried to play it cool. But his thoughts betrayed him. In just a few seconds, the telepath got the information he was after. John knew Ella would be pleased with him.

"Forget I asked," John said. "I was just wondering if you're planning on sticking around. Some of us think you're okay. We're getting used to you and it wouldn't be cool if you roped us in and then left."

"I'm not roping anyone in, John. I genuinely want to help all of you. I've never had a family of my own, until now, with Ella. And it seems that all of you are part of the package," Roger laughed. "Sometimes it's overwhelming, but I do care about all of you. I plan on sticking around."

John could tell that Roger was being honest. He felt just a little guilty for tricking him about Dr. M. As he started to get up, Dr. Gates stopped him.

"My turn," Roger smiled.

John sat back down. "Oh yeah. I forgot."

"I hear you're interested in the school."

"Yes. I'm going to get tutored this summer, then start in the fall with everyone else," John said. "Gazzy and I are _really_ looking forward to it. I'm sure Nudge and Ella will like it too. But we'll probably only see them at lunch, 'cause they'll be in different grades."

"Oh, I think Ella decided against it. She doesn't want to leave her friends. And it's a little too far."

"What?" John cried. "She didn't tell me that!" He looked down at the floor, realizing he just gave away more than he meant to.

Roger smirked. "Please tell me that's not the only reason you agreed to go to the new school."

John slowly lifted his gaze. "No, it's not the only reason. But it was a good one. I really do want to learn stuff."

"And how does Ella feel about you?" Suddenly, it wasn't Dr. Gates sitting across from John, but Ella's dad.

John sighed. "Not the same."

"You're sure?" Roger asked, wearing a gentle expression.

"Uh, telepath, remember?"

Roger's face dropped. "I forgot about that." He eyed John suspiciously, racking his brain trying to remember everything he'd been thinking about during their conversation.

John, sensing Roger's thoughts, said, "Don't worry, I won't say anything if you don't. Not after finding out Ella lied to me."

"What do you mean?"

"She wanted me to get the scoop on you and her mom. I think she knows I like her and she totally used that," John smiled and shrugged. "It wasn't like she was fooling me, though. I was willing. But she led me to believe she was still planning on going to the new school."

Roger frowned at his daughter's deviousness. "You shouldn't let Ella take advantage like that. Or any girl, for that matter."

"You mean, doing something for a girl, maybe that you didn't really want to do, just because she bats her eyelashes at you? "

"Exactly," Roger said, pointing at John.

"Such as, giving a bunch of unruly boys physicals?"

Roger's face tinged pink. _So, John did pick up on that_, he thought.

"Busted," John smiled.

Roger snickered, "Get used to it kid. It'll happen to you your whole life."

John smiled. "Dr. Gates?"

"Yes, John?"

"I'm glad you'll be sticking around."

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*** I'm glad Roger is sticking around too. I have plans for him ;)**

**As always, feed back is appreciated. Let me know what you like and what you don't. This one is definitely a work in progress.**

**Stay tuned! Labor Day is coming up!**


	8. labor day, part one

*** Yay! Max is back in the forefront in this and the next couple of chapters. I know this makes turtlelover0511 happy. I hope it makes the rest of you happy too. Thanks to the couple of people who reviewed. I get worried when I see that a lot of people have read but not reviewed. Maybe the story is not going as well as I hoped. Anyway, in my time off, I'm able to get a lot of typing done so I'll be updating often. Now, on with the story :)**

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"Was that another one?" Fang asked.

I looked at him sideways. "Maybe."

"Max, you're supposed to tell me!"

"They don't hurt. They're just the fake contractions," I protested.

"Are you sure?" He still seemed nervous.

I sighed. "Yes, I've still got three and a half weeks to go. Stop worrying."

I got up and went into the kitchen for something to eat. I thought I was hungry, but when I got there, nothing appealed to me. It was Sunday. The guys were all at Mom's office getting their physicals. Except the Gasman, having already gone through his exam, and Fang. Fang had a stay of execution because of me. Roger met them there and was doing the actual exams. Mom was there to help with blood samples and stuff like that.

I sat back down next to Fang. He and I were watching some old movies with Nudge, Miranda and Sunny while Gazzy, Angel and Dani did their own things. It was a Molly Ringwald marathon. Miranda and Sunny found the clothing and hair of the eighties hilarious. The new flock, I still couldn't help making the distinction, hadn't seen that many movies and shows from before they joined us. We were enjoying poking fun at the big hair and shoulder pads when the first real cramp of discomfort hit me.

"Max? You okay?" Miranda asked me. "You looked like you zoned out for a sec."

I waved her off. "Fine. Just tired. Maybe I nodded off," I laughed. Turning to Fang, I said, "Maybe I'll go take a nap."

My bed never looked so inviting. Before I lay down, I took a quick inventory of things that still needed to be done. Procrastination was sort of a hobby of mine. I was really good at it. Fang set the bassinet up, but I hadn't put any bedding on yet. The outfits Mom brought last week were still unwashed with the tags on and we hadn't even gotten a car seat. Mom, Jeb, and the doctor at the hospital said under no circumstances were we to fly the baby home. I promised myself to get to all of it this week.

I fell asleep the instant my head hit the pillow. I dreamed a dozen dreams, each stranger than the one before. In one, Dilly turned out to be a boy that looked just like Gazzy. That one was a little freaky. In another, I went into labor but no one was home so I had to give birth by myself-I had a chicken. For about the hundredth time I dreamt about falling off the cliff. It was always so vivid. I could actually feel myself falling. I usually woke up right before hitting the canyon floor. This time was different. It felt like hands were squeezing around me pulling me down faster.

I started awake. Ow, that wasn't just in the dream. My back was going into spasms and my belly tightened. I tried to breathe through it, somewhat successfully. I sat up. The feeling had gone completely as quickly as it had come. I stood, ready to go back downstairs. Suddenly, a warm liquid spilled down my legs.

Crap.

"Fang!" I yelled. I wasn't sure if he'd be able to hear me over the t.v. "Fang!" I shouted louder. I was about to call again when he appeared, breathless, in the doorway.

"Are you okay?" he asked immediately. Taking a few steps toward me, he saw the small puddle at my feet. "Holy crap! Is that what I think it is?"

He instantly got out his cell phone and called Mom. "Valencia. Yes." There was a pause. "No, I'm pretty sure," he said looking at my feet. "Well, unless Max just peed on the floor, we're going to the hospital." Another pause. He looked right at me. "I will. Meet you there. Bye."

"Is she coming?"

"Of course." He hesitated. "But, Max, she's pretty far away. She might not make it in time."

My heart sank. She had to be there. I didn't know if I could do it without her. Fang began to dial another number.

"Who are you calling now?" I asked.

"Jeb." He put his hand up to stop me from speaking. "Your mom said to. No arguments."

"Why can't you drive me?"

"Because. I want to sit with you and make sure you're okay on the way to the hospital." He looked so serious. "And besides, I don't think I'm in any shape to drive. I'd feel more comfortable with an experienced driver."

I couldn't argue with that. We learned how to drive and even got licenses, but we weren't very good. We always ended up flying wherever we went.

"Damn it, Jeb. Pick up!" Fang cursed into the phone. Finally, "It's Fang. It's time. You need to drive us." He was a man of few words-especially when it came to Jeb. I noticed that he didn't ask, he told.

Fang came over to me where I was still frozen in fear, getting over another contraction. He nudged me toward the bathroom, grabbing pajamas out of my drawer as we walked past.

"Let's get you cleaned up. Jeb will be here soon."

How could he be so cool? I was freaking out. He had to do everything for me-changing my clothes, getting my overnight bag and toothbrush. He even put my socks and shoes on.

"I'm thirsty," I said.

"I'm sorry. I don't think you're supposed to have anything. Maybe you can ask when we get to the hospital." He had a look of pity, no, not pity, maybe sympathy. He had to be the voice of reason. And guess what voice I was. That would be, insanity.

I reached down for one of the outfits Mom brought. "I never washed these. I have to wash these."

"We don't have time, Max."

"But we have a yellow outfit packed for her. We can't bring her home in yellow. I want her to wear pink."

A car beeped in front of the house. Fang pushed the curtain aside and looked out the window. "Jeb's here. Let's go."

"Wait, do we have a camera?"

"There's one in the bag," Fang promised. "If we forget anything, someone else will bring it. Come on."

Reluctantly, I let him lead me down the stairs. Nudge, Miranda and Sunny all sprang up when they saw us.

"What's going on?" Sunny asked.

"Is it time?" Nudge asked. Fang nodded. "We'll get Angel, Gazzy and Dani and meet you at the hospital. Oh this is soooo exciting!"

"Glad _you're_ having fun, Nudge," I said sarcastically. Her smile dropped.

Fang tried to smile a little. "Don't take it personally, Nudge. She's in pain. See you there."

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*** Sorry, after re-reading that, it seems a little short. But the next chapter picks right up at the hospital. R&R**


	9. labor day, part two

*** Hello again. Despite my disappointment of receiving no reviews for the last chapter, I couldn't wait to post this chapter once I had it typed up. Thank you to those who read, though, :) And thanks for the story alerts and favorites**

**enjoy :)**

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Fang helped me out of the car when Jeb pulled up to the emergency room entrance. The automatic doors opened for us and we were greeted by the girls and Gazzy, who were able to fly much faster than Jeb could drive. Miranda informed the staff that I was on my way, so the doctor had a wheelchair waiting to take me to labor and delivery.

Everything seemed a blur as I was wheeled down the dingy corridors. The sterile hallways and antiseptic smell brought me back to the School. Though it had been many years since I had been there, I could feel the panic attack rising inside me.

"Fang." I grabbed the hand dangling by his side as he walked next to the chair. "I changed my mind. I don't want to do this here. I want to go back home."

I tried to stand up but the nurse put a firm hand on my shoulder. "Please Miss, you have to stay in the chair," she ordered kindly.

"Mrs." Fang corrected and scowled. He held onto my hand. "It's too late to go back, Max. This is better. It'll be safer, too.

I was getting more and more agitated, trying several more times to get out of the chair, even as I was wheeled into a cheery bedroom-looking space designed to make one feel at home. It still had an antiseptic smell. Fang helped me onto the bed. It reminded me of a hotel bed-not the softest sheets and not the most comfortable bed, but I'd been on worse. Jeb, the nurse, two doctors and Fang watched as another contraction took over. I squeezed Fang's hand tightly and did the breathing thing my mom taught me. I felt like a dog panting on a hot summer day.

"How far apart?" the nurse asked.

"She had one right as we got to the emergency room door. Maybe four minutes," Fang told her.

"Okay, there's still some time," she said. "Everybody out. She's got to get into a gown."

She ushered everyone out the door except Fang. He glared at her when she made a move toward him.

"I promised my wife I wouldn't leave her for any reason," Fang said defiantly.

The nurse chuckled. "I wasn't going to kick you out. But you need to change into scrubs. If you want to change out here instead of the bathroom, that's fine with me. You don't have anything I haven't seen before."

I laughed out loud as Fang began to unfurl his wings-just enough for her to see that he did indeed have something she hadn't seen before. The nurse's eyes went wide.

"I stand corrected," she said, shaking her head. "They told me, but I didn't really believe it. Now I can say I've seen it all." She laughed, handing Fang a set of scrubs. "You can use the bathroom. I'll make sure she's okay while you're gone."

The nurse began to help me out of my clothes. As a contraction hit, I panted and focused on her name tag. It read Ivy Davis. When the feeling passed, we continued disrobing me.

"Wow, you have 'em too," she commented. "They sure are pretty."

"Huh?"

"Your wings. They're beautiful." She proceeded to slip a gown on me and gently pushed me back onto the semi-upright bed.

"Thank you. Ivy. Can I call you Ivy?" She didn't really look like an Ivy to me. She was tall and broad. Not heavy, but solid. Someone you wouldn't want to mess with. But her eyes were a serene blue color and the skin around them crinkled slightly when she smiled, so you knew it was a genuine smile. Upon closer inspection, her face was rather feminine, though her overall appearance was not. Her hands were large with long fingers and neatly trimmed nails. I would have named her Bertha or Helga if I was making her up. She looked like a fighter. I liked her from the start.

"We'll be spending a lot of time together over the next few hours. Next couple of days, really. You can definitely call me Ivy. What should I call you?"

"I'm Max," I told her. "His name is Fang," I said when he came out of the bathroom. Ivy simply raised her eyebrows.

Fang was tugging at the shoulders of his shirt and pulling at the collar. "This is a little uncomfortable. Do you have a pair of scissors?"

Ivy gave a puzzled look. "Scissors?"

"To cut slits in the back." Ivy cocked her head.

"Oh, for the wings?" she asked. I must say, she took the whole situation in stride. I guess as a nurse, she had to keep her cool under the most stressful conditions. I was glad to have her there with me.

Three doctors and Jeb walked in.

"Is my-" A contraction hit and I started panting again. Fang took my hand, letting me squeeze as hard as I wanted. I remembered thinking that if I broke it, at least we were in a hospital. I laughed at the thought when the contraction was over. Ivy looked at her watch.

I tried my question again. "Is my mom here yet?"

"She's on her way. The rest of the flock is here," Jeb told me.

"Can they come in?" I looked to Ivy.

"In a bit," she said. "Maybe one or two can visit, but it's going to get pretty hectic in here soon. Right now I need to set up an IV and hook you up to the monitors. And we'll take a peek at what's happening." She smiled at me. _As long as all she's doing is peeking_, I thought.

The doctors and Jeb left the room again, leaving the three of us. Ivy hooked me up to so many wires and tubes I felt like a marionette. But she did more than peek and I was grateful for her neatly trimmed nails.

Several painful contractions later, I asked about the drugs my mom said I could have. Ivy didn't think I noticed the worried look she gave Fang, but it gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Ivy put a hand on my shoulder. "Max, honey, it's too late for that. This baby is coming very soon. Your contractions are too close together and you're at nine centimeters already. I'd guess within the next half hour, you'll be parents."

My back muscles constricted and pain hit my belly again. And maybe it was because I knew drugs were no longer an option, the pain seemed worse than anything I'd ever felt before.

Fang wiped a tear from my cheek. "Don't cry. It's going to be all right."

"Easy for you to say," I gritted through my teeth.

Jeb came back into the room, calm as usual, with no less than five doctors following close behind. They were excitedly looking over my chart and checking the monitors. They talked to each other about me like I wasn't even there, until one of them walked over and asked if he could examine my wings. I thought Fang was going to go ballistic, but Ivy beat him to it.

"Okay, that's _it_!" Ivy yelled. "Which one of you is _actually_ on call?" None of them answered, they just sheepishly looked around. "That's what I thought. Out!" she ordered. She went to the phone and picked it up.

"Karen, it's Ivy. Don't let any more doctors come back to room 142. It's like a damn parade going through here. The only one I want to see back here is Dr. Brittingham."

"And Dr. Martinez," Fang added.

"Is that your mom, honey?" I nodded. "And Dr. Martinez when she gets here. She's the girl's mother."

After about fifteen minutes and a bajillion contractions later, Dr. Brittingham finally showed up.

"So, what's happening in here?" he smiled.

All I could do was pant and scowl.

"She's just about ready to go," nurse Ivy informed him.

He took a quick peek and gave her all sorts of orders I wasn't paying attention to. Fang sat by my head, whispering words of encouragement the whole time.

"Would you shut up!" I yelled at him. He looked hurt. I ignored it. "Where's my mom? Fang, go see if she's here yet." I said before that he didn't want to leave me, but after the way I yelled at him, he didn't argue. Moments later, he and Jeb returned to the room.

"Max, your mother isn't here yet." Jeb started to say something a few times before he finally spit it out. "I don't think she's going to make it in time. She's still half an hour away."

I screamed as the next wave came, more out of frustration than pain. I was managing to deal with the pain by now. Fang hesitated to come back to my side. I didn't blame him.

"Fang," I called and held out my hand. He seemed relieved to have something to do, or maybe that I wasn't yelling at him any more.

I couldn't believe after everything, after taking care of me for the past eight months, my mom was going to miss the birth.

"Jeb?" I looked to him, not sure exactly what I wanted of him.

"I'll go call your mother again to let her know what's going on," he said, trying to anticipate my next question.

Before he left, I called to him again. I don't know why. Chalk it up to hormones and my emotions being all over the place. For a moment, I was an eleven year old kid again, wishing Jeb was my dad. Wanting him to comfort me and tell me everything was going to be okay. Yeah, I had Fang, but he was just as scared as me.

"You can stay," I told Jeb. "If you want. It's your granddaughter, too." I wasn't prepared for the expression on his face. Or the tears welling up in his eyes. I felt my own tears threatening to spill. I squeezed them out, shutting my eyes tight and yelling before I remembered to breathe. Suddenly, I felt an unbelievable pressure and an urge to get that baby out.

Ivy smiled. "Okay Grandpa, quick get changed. This baby is coming right now." She threw him the scrubs meant for my mom.

Ivy pushed a lever and abruptly, the bottom half of the bed disappeared. She put my feet up so my knees were bent. Then she pushed them apart so anyone who wished could see me in all my glory. Funny thing was, I didn't even care. I just wanted it over with.

Fang wisely decided to stay by my side and continue to hold my hand. After what I told him about James' birth, he didn't want to watch. Jeb kept his eyes mainly on the monitors, advising when to push. Ivy stood ready to take the baby as soon as she made her appearance. And Dr. Brittingham sat facing me, hand on my belly, pressing down a little. "Here she comes," he said excitedly.

I don't actually remember a whole lot after that. Jeb had a hand on my back, keeping me forward. I had my eyes closed and only concentrated on pushing and Fang's voice. I thought I heard a small cracking sound. Later, I found out that I actually _did_ break Fang's hand.

The next thing I heard was a cry. My baby's cry. And someone saying, "Oh my. That's unexpected."

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*** Yikes! A real cliffy. Not my usual style, but I like to mix it up once in a while. Hmmmm, what could it be? Find out in the next chapter.**


	10. labor day, part three

*** I didn't want to make you wait too long, so. . . here it is :)**

**Thank you to maxride13, girlreadsalot and someone who reviewed anonymously. And especially NightOwlGirl, who wins the biggest fan award :D**

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"Oh, my. That's unexpected." I heard Ivy say.

Fang stood. "What? What's wrong?"

Ivy wrapped Dilly in a blanket and held her up so we could see her screaming little, red face.

"She's strong for being so early," Ivy commented. "A good, strong cry. I'm just going to weigh her and clean her off a little for you and then you can hold her." She grinned.

I leaned back and closed my eyes. That was, by far, the hardest thing I'd ever done. It wouldn't be so bad for Dilly to be an only child, right? I opened my eyes and looked up at Fang. He was looking anxiously across the room to where Ivy was weighing Dilly.

"Go ahead. I know you're dying to go over there."

He hesitated. "No, really, it's okay," I told him. He jumped up and quickly crossed the distance. Jeb was already there, but moved aside for Fang.

At that moment, my mom burst into the room, panting, much like I had been earlier, I noted.

"Did I miss it?" she asked, breathless. Looking around the room, she frowned. "Max, I'm _so_ sorry."

"Mom!" I yelled. And stupidly started crying. She hugged me the best she could with all the wires attached.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here. I drove as fast as I could."

"See if she's okay. The nurse said something was unexpected," I begged.

Fang was already bringing the baby over, a look of awe on his face.

"She looks like you, Max. Her hair is a little lighter. I thought it would be black. She hasn't opened her eyes yet."

"What was the nurse talking about?" I asked. "Does she have webbed feet or something?"

"No," he answered. His expression didn't reassure me any.

I tried to think of what else could be strange about her. "Does she have scales? A tail? A third eye?"

"Max, stop," Fang said. "She's perfect. She has all ten fingers and toes-no webs." He chuckled a little at my ridiculousness, but his smile faltered a bit as he exchanged glances with Jeb.

"What aren't you telling me? What is wrong?" I was really becoming aggravated.

Fang sat on the edge of the bed and handed me the bundle. "She really is perfect. But she's also different," he admitted. I stared down at her waiting for him to finish. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been _that_ bad.

"Max?" I looked up as Fang spoke. "Dilly has no wings."

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"What do you mean? How can she not have wings?" I looked to Jeb and Mom for answers.

"I never even considered the possibility," Jeb acknowledged. "But I guess, as with any genetic traits, some are recessive, some are dominant." Jeb offered. "It could be that wings are a recessive trait and your human genes masked them."

"Or it could be the other way around, but only your human no-wings genes were passed down," Mom added. "This is new territory and we won't know without extensive testing and research. Roger may have some insight. Hybrids are his area of expertise." I noticed Jeb's eyes narrow slightly at the mention of Roger.

"It doesn't matter. Stop talking about her like she's some lab animal!" Fang said angrily. "It is what it is. I don't care whether or not she has wings, she's still part of the flock."

"Of course Fang. You're right," Mom said. "It's just the scientists in us. She's beautiful they way she is." Mom smiled. "Just gorgeous."

"You're awfully quiet, Max?" Fang pointed out. "Are you okay?" Yeah, it wasn't really like me to not have an opinion.

"I'm just tired," I lied. Well, it wasn't exactly a lie-I was exhausted. But that wasn't why I was quiet. I couldn't wrap my brain around the news. Most people are happy when their kids aren't born with extra toes, a cleft lip, or say-wings. Not me though. I was a freak, and Dilly wasn't. She was going to be able to pass for human. She was going to have all the things I wished for growing up - to be a normal girl, doing normal things (like not eating out of dumpsters), having a real family with real parents. I should have been thrilled. But I was already starting to mourn the things she wouldn't have - the free feeling of soaring above the Earth, the wind in her hair, the sun on her wings. I had been looking forward to teaching her to fly, the way Dani and Iggy were beginning to do with James. Not wanting to upset Fang, I held back my tears.

"I'm starving, too," I finally said. Everyone laughed. What was so funny? I was hungry six hours ago, before my nap. And I thought I had just burned off enough energy to warrant starvation.

"What do you want, Max? I'll get you anything," Jeb offered. There was something in his voice I hadn't heard in a long time. It was somehow softer, more, dad-like. Like the way he used to talk to me when we first 'escaped' the School. "I'll tell the rest of the flock that the baby is here. They'll all want to see her."

"No," I was too quick to say. "I mean, I need a little time alone with her and Fang first."

"Okay," Jeb said, without judgement. Then as if reading my thoughts, "I won't say anything about . . . her not having wings, yet. I'll let you tell them."

"Thank you."

Ivy broke in. "Max. honey, I'm going to get a bassinet so she can stay in here with you. Can I get you anything? Are you in pain?" Surprisingly, I wasn't. I was kind of numb all over.

"Maybe some water?" I asked.

Jeb, the doctor and the nurse left on various errands.I asked Jeb to get me and Fang some Chinese take out. I figured, no matter what we ordered, it would only take fifteen minutes. It was always fifteen minutes.

"Fang, why don't you take a break?" Mom suggested. "Get that hand looked at. I can see from here, it's broken."

"Oh my God! I broke your hand?"

"I'm fine," Fang said. Big surprise.

"I'll sit with Max and Dilly." Mom gave him one of those 'this is not a request' looks when he protested.

She waited until Fang left before asking, "You're really disappointed, aren't you?"

"It never occurred to any of us that she wouldn't get the bird genes. James did."

"Well, just because she doesn't have wings, doesn't mean she doesn't have other abilities. She only weighs three and a half pounds, but she's almost as big as a normal baby. My guess is that her bones are like yours. Dilly may have your excellent hearing and vision. And possibly gills," she smiled.

"Angel will be thrilled," I commented dryly. "But she won't be able to fly with us." My heart hurt at that thought-the flock flying away, leaving her to travel like Mom, Jeb and Ella. They didn't seem to mind but they didn't know what they were missing.

Mom smiled sadly. "That's ironic." I looked at her questioningly. "It's ironic that you should have a daughter that's different from you, and you wish she could be more like you, to spare her a difficult life." She paused. "The same way I did. It's ironic that you're seeing her as having a disability. The way I saw you when I first met you."

Disability? Was she right? She was. That was exactly the way I was thinking about it. Dilly would be challenged, living with the flock. Fang and I would have to learn how to drive for real. No more fight or flight response. Dilly would only have fight. Or run. Well, I'd have to teach her how to fight then.

Maybe Mom was right about the other thing. Maybe she would be able to do some other stuff. Possibly even cooler stuff than we can. I was starting to feel a little better about it when Fang came back with his hand temporarily bandaged. The nurse came back, too.

"Time for your hourly poking and prodding," nurse Ivy joked. "And that little one of yours might be hungry, if she's anything like her mama."

Like her mama. I winced at the words. If Ivy saw, she ignored it. To her, Dilly was just another cute, healthy baby. Before Jeb came back, Ivy showed me how to nurse. Let me just say- ouch.

Dilly fell asleep, so Mom placed her gently in the clear plastic bassinet. Jeb walked in with our order of three mains and a large wonton soup. Nothing spicy for me. The doctor told me basically, what I eat, the baby eats. I stayed away from the broccoli too. We didn't need another Gasman on our hands.

_Oh, God, I hope she doesn't get something like that as a super power_, I thought.

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*** I have the next chapter written but not typed. I'll try to get it up as soon as possible**


	11. evolution disillusion

*** Happy New Year everyone! I was hoping to get this up sooner, but I got sidetracked with a little Harry Potter New Year's Eve one shot. Anyway, here's the big reveal. Just don't think too badly of Max. She doesn't like having no control :)**

**thanks, turtlelover0511, girlreadsalot, NightOwlGirl and Lenaishel for reviewing! And to a few more of you that added it to favorites :)**

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I felt much better after a a few helpings of sesame chicken and beef chow mein, but still, the future weighed heavily on my mind. I was looking too far ahead. Fang and I had enough to worry about right now. Like diaper changing. I had changed James' diaper a few times but Fang didn't, and there was no way I was getting stuck with all the diaper duty.

Ivy poked her head in the door and announced, "There are some very anxious kids out in the waiting room. If you don't let them come in soon, I'm afraid they're going to start a riot," she laughed.

"Can they all come in?" I asked. "Actually, even if you said no, they'd all come in anyway. So, you should just say yes. That way, you can still feel like you're in control."

"So I should choose my battles, huh? Thanks for the tip. I was wondering how that would go," Ivy smiled. Then she paused. "Are they all . . . like you two?"

"You mean the wings? Yeah. And the attitude," I added.

"Then we'd better not keep them waiting." She walked out the door.

Within a minute, Nudge and Angel burst through the door, followed by a steady stream of flock members. As the flock filled the room, I noticed Jeb quietly slip out.

Dilly was still bundled tightly in her blanket, dressed in only a diaper underneath. We gave up on the p.j.s after the second diaper change. It was a pain to unzip and take off every time. If I had known that before, we could have saved mom money on clothes.

"Awwwww, she's so cute!" Nudge cooed. "Can I hold her?"

"Wait 'til she wakes up," I suggested.

"So, you're still definitely naming her Dylan?" Iggy asked.

"Yeah," Fang answered. "It would be weird not to. We've all been calling her Dilly for the past month. And now that I see her, it suits her. I was having a hard time picturing a dark, black haired girl as a Dylan before," he admitted. "But now, she kind of reminds me of him, with the light hair."

"You're not still going to give her Valencia as a middle name are you?" Mom asked and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, why not?" I questioned.

"Because it's awful," she said. "I've never liked it. And besides, her initials will be DVR."

We all sat or stood in silence for a minute, pondering that. I hadn't even given her initials a thought.

"How about Valencia Carmen Ride, then," Gazzy said, laughing. "Then she'll be VCR. Or Carmen Patricia Ride. Or you could go with Martinez as the last name and call her Dylan Angel." Gazzy was laughing hysterically. Others were giggling too. Personally, I didn't find it all that funny.

"That's not how you spell damn, nimrod," Iggy said. "Unless you're a beaver."

Fang and I looked at each other. "Maybe we ought to rethink this," he whispered.

"No. How often is she going to go by her initials?"

"Max, please. You won't hurt my feelings." Mom spoke up. "I think it's sweet that you want to name her after me, but don't saddle her with Valencia. It always reminded me of oranges. Just pick a name you like."

With that comment, everyone acted like it was open for flock discussion, mainly putting their own names in the hat. If they all had their way, Dilly would have nine middle names. All the talking woke up the baby.

"Ooh, look. Dilly's waking up," Dani pointed out.

I reached toward the bassinet, twisting a little in the process. That was the first time I felt the pain the nurse was expecting me to feel. I gasped, then grunted a little. Fang practically leaped over the bed to get to the bassinet to stop me.

"You're not supposed to be lifting anything," he said, a worried expression on his face.

"I don't think they were talking about the baby, Fang. Just heavy stuff. She weighs like, three pounds." I rolled my eyes. Great, is this what it was going to be like? Was he going to let me do anything for myself?

He picked up Dilly as she began to cry. Amazingly, she stopped as soon as he cuddled her close to himself.

"Aww, look how tiny," Nudge squealed.

"She loves her daddy already," Sunny observed.

The girls crowded around Fang to get a better look. The boys showed interested for all of about ten seconds, then talked amongst themselves. Fang held Dilly away from himself slightly, so the girls could see her face. From my angle, I could only see the back of her head and Fang's face.

Suddenly, a huge smile appeared on his face. A very un-Fang -like smile. The little thing already had him wrapped around her little finger.

"Max! She opened her eyes!" He looked at me, still smiling. "They're almost black. At least she got something from me."

Dilly began to whimper, so Fang once again cuddled her forward and leaned her on his chest. Still very nervous about holding a newborn and having some trouble with his bandaged hand, he fumbled to keep a tight grip on her. The blankie started to bunch up around her.

"A little help here," Fang asked anyone, anxiously.

Miranda reached out to help straighten the blanket, but instead, ended up pulling it up too far. It flopped backward, revealing most of her tiny back.

Everyone gasped, then the room fell silent.

After a few awkward moments, Fang broke the silence. "What? There's nothing wrong with her." He looked every one of them in the eye, almost daring them to say something to the contrary.

Angel caught my eye, but I couldn't hold her gaze, knowing that she knew what I was thinking.

Sunny put a hand out to touch Dilly's back. Fang drew back protectively.

"I wasn't going to-I just wanted to touch her. She looks so soft." Sunny stepped back apparently a little hurt.

"Uh, the doctor said we shouldn't, you know, let anyone touch her without washing their hands," Fang stammered. I knew it was a lie. The doctor never told us that specifically. But it sounded reasonable, so I backed him up.

"Germs. 'Cause she's so early."

"Oh." Sunny didn't seem like she really believed us.

"So how long are you going to keep the blind guy in the dark?" Iggy asked. "Not that a light would help," he joked.

I cleared my throat, gearing up to speak. "Dilly doesn't have any wings," I told him. There. I said it. Out loud in front of people. It was real.

"Is that all?" Iggy asked.

"What do you mean, is that all? You don't think that's a problem?"

Crap. Problem wasn't the word I wanted to use.

Fang glared at me.

"I could think of worse things," Iggy answered. "So she's different than you. Do you think I was upset when James was born being able to see?"

"Iggy that's not the same. Being blind is . . ." I really didn't want to talk my way into a corner. Someone was going to get their feelings hurt, or worse, start a huge fight. With Dani's help, Fang managed to wrap Dilly back up in her blanket, clinging her tightly to his chest.

Iggy wasn't backing down. "It's what, Max? Not normal? An impediment? A liability? Am _I_ a liability?"

The flock looked from him to me and back, as if watching a tennis match.

"No, of course not!" I didn't like having words put in my mouth, then having to defend myself. "I. . . it's just going to be difficult getting around with her.

"We'll manage." Fang interrupted. "We'll make accommodations like we do for your mom or Ella or Jeb."

"But she won't know what it's like to fly. We all love to fly." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. I swallowed them away before they could spill.

"Most people don't, Max. It's not-" Fang began to talk, but I talked right over him. He frowned, but let me speak.

"Iggy, if you could get your eyesight back, but had to give up your wings, would you do it?" I asked.

"That's not a fair question," Dani scowled.

"Would you?" I repeated. I felt somehow that Iggy could feel my stare.

Iggy opened his mouth and took a breath, ready to speak, a thousand differing emotions across his face. Instead, he simply breathed out and closed his mouth.

"I didn't think so," I choked out. The tears were threatening again. I felt vindicated, but not better. "It's just so unexpected. Like a step backward." Like being a mere human was such a bad thing? I was saying all sorts of things that were going to get me into trouble later. "Look, we're all going to have to deal with it. We'll work around it and it will be fine. I'm just going to need a little time, to get used to it." I looked up at Fang. "It doesn't mean I don't think she's perfect." He was still frowning at me.

While our conversation was going on, Sunny quietly made her way into the bathroom to was her hands. She walked back to Fang and held out her arms.

"Can I hold her now?" she asked.

Reluctantly, Fang lowered Dilly into Sunny's waiting arms. He acted like he was handing over a live grenade, ready to go off at the slightest jostle. His eyes never left the baby as she was passed around the room. Of course, Fang made everyone wash their hands first.

Nurse Ivy entered the already way past capacity room and ordered everybody out-in her own kind, but firm way. No one argued. I wished I could take her home with me. Anyone that could command a whole room full of strong headed bird kids with so few words and no obvious threats, probably would have made a great drill sergeant. I knew there would be chaos when we got home. Most of my time would be spent tending to Dilly's every need, leaving me little time to keep the flock in line. Mom and Jeb said they would help out. But Jeb was pretty useless in that department, considering all we got away with under his watch. Mom, however, at least commanded some respect, so we all tried to hide our bad behavior from her.

"It's been a couple of hours. You should try feeding this little one again," Ivy suggested.

"You mean I have to do that every couple of hours? When do I sleep?" I asked. There's no way that could be right.

"Only for a month or two. Eventually, she'll start to sleep through the night," Ivy told me.

"What about me? Can't I help?" Fang asked.

Ivy chuckled. "Not unless you've got something else I've never seen before." Her smile dropped. "You don't, do you? After the wings, I guess nothing should surprise me."

"No," Fang said in all seriousness. "I meant with a bottle."

"Good, 'cause that would be weird," Ivy smirked. "A bottle is okay once in a while. But nursing is best."

_Great_, I thought, _I am literally going to be attached to Dilly for the next couple of months._

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_*** I'm going to have to tear myself away from the baby for a chapter or two, now. There _are_ other characters with stuff going on. hee hee It's back to school, so I may not be able to update as much as I have the past week. I apologize in advance**


	12. gazzy's got a secret

*** Sorry it's taken so long for me to post. Going back to work after the holidays sucks :( (Plus I got sidetracked with my HP fic, sorry) This chapter is definitely not one of my favorites. I had a really hard time with it. But some of the stuff in it will play out later in the story. If I decide to go back in time to change it later, I'll let you know. Anyway, it seems there were a lot of problems with the fanfic site last week. A few of you sent me PM's instead of reviews, which I totally appreciate. Thank you for not giving up on giving me feedback. :) And I couldn't access my story stats, which I found very frustrating. But all seems to be working now. I'm going to stop complaining so you can read!**

**btw: Gazzy and Angel communicate telepathically in this chapter-it's in italics, as are Gazzy's thoughts to himself.**

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Jump and Miranda watched Gazzy pile his plate high with food. Not what they were eating. Gazzy got a big glass of water and sat down with his creation.

"What, are you on a diet or something?" Jump joked.

Gazzy's spoon hovered in front of his open mouth.

"Ha. Ha," he said humorlessly, then licked the big glob of peanut butter.

"Not that I don't like all those foods, but don't you want some bread or crackers to spread it on?" Miranda asked. "It's not much of a lunch."

Gazzy eyed up the peanut butter, along with the apple slices, celery, carrots and a Greek yogurt. It wasn't a whole lot of food, but he dug in anyway.

"It jut a 'nack," Gazzy said with his mouth full. He chased the food down with a gulp of water. "Snack," he repeated.

Jump and Miranda got out some fat pretzels and began dipping them into the peanut butter.

"Hey! Don't do that!" Gazzy yelled. "You're getting crumbs in it!"

"So," Jump said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, I can't. . . .stand having crumbs in it."

Miranda and Jump just looked at Gazzy, surprised by his outburst. Miranda got out another spoon and put some of the peanut butter on a different dish for her and Jump to share. They all munched in silence.

When Gazzy had cleaned his plate, he put it in the sink and walked away, not quite satisfied.

Gazzy had been spotted making himself unusual lunches, picking at dinners and eating an unreasonable amount of eggs at breakfasts.

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Making lasagna, or rather, trying to make lasagna, Iggy had finally had it.

"Who keeps eating all the eggs?" He yelled, to no one in particular. "Now I have to go to the store," he muttered.

"Uh, I'll go, Ig. I think I ate the last egg." Gazzy confessed.

"Fine. Thanks." Iggy was still annoyed, but since Gazzy offered to get more, he let it go. "What's with that anyway? You seem like you don't want to eat with us anymore. You don't like my cooking all of a sudden?"

"You're the best cook, Ig. I just like to eat in my room sometimes. And, well, maybe my tastes are changing or something." Gazzy was hoping Iggy would just drop the whole thing. He quickly grabbed a jacket and went to the utility closet to retrieve money for the store. He took more than he needed for eggs.

"Need anything else?"

"Nah, I have everything else I need. We can get Jeb to take us to the store tomorrow for a big trip," Iggy answered.

"Be right back." Gazzy took off for the nearest grocery, making a mental list of other things he wanted to buy.

Walking up and down t he aisles, Gazzy first picked up the eggs. He then went to the cereal aisle to get Rice Chex and Corn Chex. He knew he had to keep the load light for the flight home so he chose wisely. Bananas, potato chips and beef jerky were next on the list. He figured he had enough, so anything else could wait for tomorrow's trip.

Touching down in the yard, Gazzy stashed his extra purchases behind a bush and walked into the house. The kitchen smelled like spaghetti sauce, and Iggy was cooking lasagna noodles, while Miranda and Dani put together a salad.

John wandered in and inhaled deeply. "Smells soooo good," he said. "How long until dinner?"

"I'm almost ready to put it in the oven. So, like forty-five minutes," Iggy answered.

"John picked up one of the loaves of bread. "Oooh, can we make this into garlic bread?"

"Ooh, yeah," Miranda agreed.

Gazzy's mouth started to water. Garlic bread sounded heavenly.

"Okay," Iggy decided. "John, want to learn how? I need to teach you all how to cook so I can retire," he laughed.

Iggy and John went to work on the bread. They decided to use all three loaves. Gazzy quietly went to his room and closed the door. He shared a room with John, now that Iggy moved in with Dani, which was working out pretty well. They had enough in common that they got along. And John loved learning about all the bombs Gazzy had built. He was especially interested in learning how to make fireworks.

Gazzy snuck out his bedroom window to retrieve his bag of groceries. Hearing someone approach, he quickly dove behind the bushes to wait. It was Nudge and Angel.

"You have to at least try it, Angel. You might like it," Nudge said.

"I told Max's mom I'd give it a few weeks. But now I wish I hadn't. I haven't liked any of the other schools we tried."

"But this is different. Pleeeease come with me. We won't have to hide our wings or anything. And there will be lots of boys there that aren't our brothers."

Gazzy's ears pricked up at that. _What did she mean by that? She doesn't have a brother_, Gazzy thought.

"What do you mean? You don't have a brother," Angel asked exactly what Gazzy just thought.

_Crap_.

Angel must have known he was hiding nearby. That was her way of letting him know that she knew. Gazzy tried so hard not to think of anything at all. But that's impossible, of course.

"Well, they all may as well be brothers. You know what I mean, we're all family," Nudge explained.

"Max and Fang don't act like brother and sister. Neither do Dani and Iggy, or Miranda and Jump," Angel reminded her.

"Okay, but Dani and Iggy weren't raised like brother and sister. Neither were Jump and Miranda, really. And I don't know about you, but Max and Fang together weirded me out at first," Nudge confessed.

"What about your crush on Iggy?" Angel asked.

_What?_ Gazzy had no idea. He wasn't sure if that depressed him or gave him hope.

"Angel! You promised you would never bring that up," Nudge scolded. "Besides, that was a long time ago. And Max and Fang were giving me strange ideas."

"So, you don't think you would want to, you know, get together with anyone in the flock?" Angel asked innocently, or so she sounded.

"Anyone? There's only John and Gazzy left. And they're both younger than me." Nudge paused. "And they're gross. Why, would you? Oh, I guess it would have to be John."

"I don't know. I'm not really thinking about that stuff yet. But John is nice. He seems more like a friend than a brother. " Angel shrugged. "Gazzy isn't that gross anymore, you know," she slipped in casually.

"Hmm, maybe not. But still," Nudge replied.

_But still? But still what?_ Gazzy thought. _What did she mean by that?_

_At least you got a maybe you're not that gross_

_Yipee,_ he thought flatly.

_I'm sorry Gazzy_

The girls walked into the house, leaving Gazzy the opportunity to come out of his hiding place. He picked up his bag and flew up to his window.

He couldn't help thinking about the girls' conversation as he hid his stash under the bed.

Not that gross. Was that what everyone thought? Didn't any of them notice that he wasn't nearly living up to his name lately? Ever since he'd talked to Max's mom. His stomach didn't feel all sour and bubbly and it had been more than a week since he cleared a room. Strangely, he felt more alert, too. Maybe because he'd been sleeping better.

_Whatever. Stupid Nudge. What do I care_, Gazzy thought. _I'm going to meet all kinds of new people at school, too._

Gazzy wandered into the Great Room. The smell of lasagna and garlic bread filled the whole house and made his stomach rumble. It was his favorite thing Iggy made.

"Something wrong, Gazzy?" Nudge asked.

_Like you care_. "Not feeling great," he answered.

"Anything I can get you?" Why was she being so nice all of a sudden?

Gazzy decided it wasn't all of a sudden. Nudge was just nice to everyone. That was what was so great about her.

"Nah, I think I'm going to go lie down."

Gazzy went back to his room before too many others ambled into the kitchen area. He didn't want to have to answer a bunch of questions. Pulling the bag out from under his bed, he peeled a banana and ate it in three bites. Next, he ripped open one of the packages of jerky. He didn't mean to eat the whole thing, but he couldn't help it. He had been so hungry. Too late, he realized he didn't have anything to drink. He wanted the chips, but the jerky was already so salty.

There was a soft knock on his door. Quickly, he shoved everything back under his bed. "Who is it?"

"It's Miranda."

"Come in."

She opened the door to find Gazzy lying on his bed rubbing his eyes. He did a convincing job of appearing to have been sleeping.

"Are you hungry?" she asked him.

"No," he answered. "But I'm thirsty."

"Do you want some tea? Or water or something?"

"Water would be nice," Gazzy said weakly. That was a bit of luck. He was wishing for a drink and here was someone to deliver it. It was so easy to pretend to be sick. Maybe he'd try out for a play at the new school. He thought he was a pretty good actor. So far, everybody bought his act.

As Miranda was leaving, Angel came in.

Crap. Not everyone.

She put her hands on her hips. "Okay, what's going on? Don't make me read your mind again."

"I'm sick."

"Uh huh. You were hanging out in the bushes earlier. What are you up to? Why are you avoiding dinner, of all things."

He was about to fess up when she continued.

"Is it because of what Nudge said? Are you avoiding her?"

Gazzy picked it up and ran with it.

"Yeah. I heard everything you two were talking about. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I just hid when I heard you coming. I figured you'd keep walking.

"Gazzy, you can't avoid her all the time. She doesn't even know how you feel," Angel told him.

"I don't even know how I feel, how could she?" Gazzy sighed. "I mean, it's just Nudge. But sometimes, when I'm close to her, I want to touch . . . her skin is so pretty. And her lips . . ." he stopped himself, blushing. He didn't mean to say any of that. It was one thing for Angel to read his thoughts. It was far different to say things out loud.

Angel cleared her throat and smiled. "Well, Nudge _is_ very pretty."

"Grrrr. I hate feeling like this! I don't want to. I hate feeling goofy, wondering if I look okay or if my hair is sticking up."

"I thought you did that on purpose," Angel commented.

He looked at her as if she were dense. "I do. But it has to stick up in the right places."

"Oh." Angel shrugged. "Anyway, you can't hide in here all the time." Angel's brow furrowed. "What do I smell?"

"Lasagna," Gazzy answered.

"No, it smells like sausage. No, salami?"

"I don't smell anything." Gazzy tried changing the subject. "So what do I do about Nudge?"

Angel leaned forward. "It's your breath! You're eating something in here? You could have waited for lasagna, it's almost done. What's really going on?"

"Nothing," Gazzy protested, his voice rising in register. "I swear. I'm all broken up over Nudge." Not sounding at all broken up.

Angel's eyes narrowed. Gazzy tried his hardest not to think about the bag of food under his bed, in case Angel was trying to read him. At that moment, Miranda came in with a cup of tea and a big glass of water. She looked at the siblings, realizing she walked in on the middle of something.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Should I come back?" she asked.

"No," Gazzy replied. "Angel was just leaving."

"You're not off the hook yet," Angel said as she walked out.

"You look like you're feeling better," Miranda noticed. "Do you want anything else?"

"No. This is good," he smiled.

"Okay. I'll check on you later," Miranda said and started to leave.

"Wait," Gazzy stopped her. "Why are you being so nice to me? I mean, no offense, but you're not usually so, um, mothering." He smiled sheepishly. He hoped he didn't insult her.

Miranda chuckled. "Yeah. I know. But Max usually does that stuff for you guys. I figured I could help you out, at least until she's back from the hospital."

"Oh. Thanks," Gazzy smiled.

"You're welcome. Just don't tell anyone. I have a reputation to uphold," she laughed. She closed the door behind her, leaving Gazzy alone with his food stash. He reached under the bed and grabbed the bag of chips.

"Hello-o-o-o-o," he said in a sing-song voice. "I've been looking forward to spending some quality time with you." He laughed and hugged the bag. There was a knock on his door.

"Dang it!" he yelled.

Iggy burst into the room. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Gazzy froze, trying his best not to rustle the bag of chips. He was glad it was Iggy, because he couldn't see the bag.

"Fine. I'm just trying to have some quiet time and people keep coming in here," Gazzy explained.

"Sorry, I wanted to check on you. It's not like you to skip out on lasagna," Iggy said.

"No. I'm sorry. Miranda brought me tea. And Angel came to check on me too. I'm fine. Really," Gazzy assured him.

"Okay buddy. I'll leave you alone."

"Thanks, Ig."

When Iggy finally left, Gazzy proceeded to tear open the chips. He downed half the glass of water before shoving handfuls of the salty snack into his mouth. Without meaning to, he finished the bag. He drank all of the water and some of the tea.

Suddenly, Gazzy didn't feel well for real. All the grease and salt combined with a large, filling glass of water made his stomach churn. He lay down, clutching his belly, almost wishing he could throw up.

_Karma_, he thought, _must be a girl. 'Cause she's a bitch._

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_***poor Gazzy lol I think we're back to Max in the next chapter, unless I decide to switch a couple of things around. . . so much to get to. I thought I wrote a chapter 14, but my notes go right to 15, so who knows lol**

**Thanks for reading!**


	13. going home

*** Thanks for reading and reviewing last chapter. I like this one much better, even though it's shorter. We'll get back to Gazzy eventually. To the anonymous reviewer, you didn't miss anything. His situation hasn't been completely revealed yet. Though, it seems obvious to me lol Anyway, don't look for another flock pairing any time soon :( But things will get better for Gazzy :) School, or at least tutoring, is coming up soon. **

**btw-I've been debating whether or not to include the Voice in this story. Personally, I think there is already enough going on, and the longer I go without it, the more unnecessary it seems. So, we'll just assume the Voice is still pissed at her for yelling at it at the end of the last story, and so it isn't speaking to her. LOL**

**enjoy**

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Dr. Brittingham came in bright and early to check up on me and Dilly before discharging us. Fang had stayed the night-again-and was still asleep on the chair next to the basinet. He hadn't left the room, much less the hospital in the five days since Dilly was born. The flock had been bringing him clothes and food every day. I could have gone home the next day, but since Dilly was so early, she had to stay. Despite the strong first cry, she wasn't as healthy as we thought at first. One of the pediatricians didn't think she was pink enough, so they did some tests. Turns out air sacs, like lungs, don't properly develop until shortly before birth. Dilly was put on oxygen and given drugs to help develop her lungs. Fang tried not to show how worried he was, but I could see it every time she had to spend time in the incubator.

Dilly had finally gotten a clean bill of health. Though, the pediatrician told me, she would have gotten discharged days ago if Ivy hadn't strongly suggested keeping her to give Fang and me a few more days to rest and learn to care for her. As much as I wanted to go home, I was grateful for the extra help. At least now, we were going home relatively confident that we knew what we were doing. That Ivy was a guardian angel.

Honestly, I thought the doctors wanted to keep her to see if anything weird was going to happen. She had been examined by no less than seven doctors. The hospital wasn't even that big! Every single one of them told us the same thing-Dilly seemed to be a perfectly normal baby, other than she weighed half what a typical newborn weighs. If I had to explain one more time that most of her bones were most likely hollow, like ours, I was going to lose my mind. A number of them wanted to do CAT scans and x-rays, which we politely declined.

"I'm amazed how quickly you've recovered, Max," Dr. Brittingham commented, looking over my chart. "If I didn't deliver your baby myself, I would never believe you gave birth five days ago. Actually, it's almost as if you hadn't given birth at all. I'd say, at this point, you and your husband don't really need to wait the usual six weeks to resume sexual activity."

I blushed furiously, glad that Fang was still sleeping. "But it's still okay to wait, right. Just in case." I asked.

The doctor smiled and patted my hand. "Of course, it's fine to wait the whole six weeks, if you're more comfortable with that."

Fang began to stir in the chair. I hoped he hadn't heard that last part.

"Now remember, Max, if you're going to nurse, you have to keep up your caloric intake. No dieting."

Fang laughed and opened his eyes. "You don't have to worry about that. Diet is a four letter word at our house." He stretched, yawned and smiled at me, looking like a puppy ready to play. "We get to go home today, right?"

Nurse Ivy had come in with paper work to be signed. I was going to miss her terribly. She had been our coach, our cheerleader, our time manager and our bodyguard/bouncer for the past five days. She was tough and gentle at the same time, and she kept her wits about her through all the chaos we brought. Ivy was someone to be admired. I admit, I got a little teary-eyed at the thought of saying goodbye.

"You know, nurses like to say they remember every single baby they've helped deliver, because they're all special. And that is true. But this has truly been a unique experience for me. I'll never be able to top it." She smiled, crinkling her warm, blue eyes. "Unless you come back for an encore." She quickly added, "Down the road a bit." The panic I felt at those words must have been written all over my face.

She peeked into the basinet and stroked Dilly's soft, brown hair. "You two are going to be fine parents. And don't worry about this little one. Not all angels have wings."

I immediately felt the tears welling up.

"You got that right," Fang said quietly, standing up to look in on Dilly. He was caught by surprise when Ivy pulled him into a hug. I stifled a giggle as he stood stiffly while she hugged him, telling him to call her at the hospital if we needed anything. I was shocked when I noticed his arms slowly drawing around her. His voice was a broken whisper, "Thank you. For everything."

Pulling away, he reached for his jacket, took out a picture and handed it to Ivy. It was a picture she took for us of the whole flock, plus Mom, Ella and Jeb.

"I had a copy made for you."

"Oh, let me see," I said. Looking at the picture, I laughed, "At least my eyes are open in this one." In our last hospital photo, after Dani had James, I was still unconscious in the next bed. It was a bitter sweet memory. Dylan was in that picture. He should have been in this one too. I sighed and gave the picture back to Ivy.

"We'd better get Dilly ready to go," I said to Fang. He went into the bathroom, while I got up to get Dilly's clothes.

Mom, Ella and Jeb walked in with a huge bouquet of flowers.

"How lovely!" Ivy exclaimed. "But Max is leaving today, you should have sent them to their house."

"These are for you actually," Mom said as Jeb handed them over. "A small token for having to put up with all of us." We all laughed. We all knew the flowers didn't put a dent in the debt we owed her.

Ivy put a hand to her chest and gasped. "In all my years here, these are a first for me. No one's ever brought me flowers before. But you didn't have to. You've been a pleasure."

"Max has been called a lot of things. 'A pleasure' is _not_ one of them," Fang laughed. Even I had to laugh at that one.

"Ooh, I can't wait to brag to the other nurses," she laughed. "Thank you so much! I'm going to go put these right on the front desk. Make sure you come say goodbye before you leave." Ivy walked out, proudly carrying her vase. I could hear her in the hallway telling everyone she got flowers. Boy, I was going to miss her.

Fang came out of the bathroom, changed and ready to go. I got Dilly's outfit and spread it out on the bed while Fang unwrapped her from her blanket. I must have been frowning without realizing it.

"Max, what's wrong?" Fang asked.

"Um, nothing, really." I hated to bring it up. It seemed I was doing a lot of complaining lately. "Um, the clothes all have slits in the back."

"Oh. I didn't think of that," Fang said. We silently put Dilly in the outfit and wrapped her back up in the blanket.

"We can get her new clothes," Mom finally said. "She should have pink, frilly stuff anyway, not boy's hand-me-downs."

"I can babysit while you go shopping," Ella offered.

"I didn't cut up the outfits you just bought last week. We'll use those," I said.

Mom chuckled, "Oh, Max, that's only four sets of pajamas. She's going to go need a lot of outfits or you'll be doing laundry constantly."

"How dirty could she possibly get?" I asked.

"Between spitting up and diaper leaks, she'll be going through several a day, if she's anything like Ella was."

"Mom!" Ella scowled.

"Several a day?" What was I getting myself into? Do babies spit up that much? So far, she didn't seem to be a spitter.

"It's fine, Max. We'll just get more clothes," Fang said, sounding annoyed. It did seem like I was complaining about _everything_.

"Do we have to set up the car seat, Jeb?"

"The base is already set up in my car. This part you can take off and carry with you. It's pretty ingenious," Jeb replied.

"I wish I'd had one of those for Ella," Mom said.

"And we got this cool blanket, slash jacket thing that goes in it, so you don't have to wake her up to take her jacket off. You just unzip it," Ella added.

Fang placed Dilly in the car seat and Ella showed him how to put the straps on and hook her in. Then they zipped up the blanket and we were ready to go.

Ivy came running into the room with a large envelope. "Wait, you don't want to leave without this. One of the other nurses does calligraphy and makes up a nice keepsake certificate for all the new parents to hang on the wall."

"Oh, may I see it?" Mom asked.

Nurse Ivy opened the envelope and slid the certificate out. She was about to hand it over when she glanced at it and stopped in her tracks.

"I heard somewhere that you should name your kids after people you would like them to emulate. Fang and I hope Dilly grows up to be like you. You're patient and caring, firm but gentle. And you can keep control over a whole room full of flock."

There I was getting teary-eyed again.

"Besides, we both really like the name," Fang added.

"Dylan Ivy Ride," Nurse Ivy read. "I love it. Now you're going to have to come back from time to time, so I can see how my little namesake is doing." She hugged us again and hurried off. I thought I saw a little extra sparkle in her eyes. Or maybe it was tears. She hurried off to help with another delivery. There _were_ other patients, after all.

"Thank goodness you didn't use Valencia," Mom said.

Fang picked up the car seat and I grabbed the diaper bag. We got in Jeb's car with him while Mom and Ella followed behind in her car. I turned around to look back at the hospital as we left the parking lot. I sighed, thinking about how much harder it was about to get, without Ivy telling me what to do all the time. Who'd have _ever_ thought I'd want that.

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*** So there it is. Things are going to get more difficult before they get easier for Max hee hee. And that's probably the last we'll see of nurse Ivy. She'll get a mention here and there, though. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	14. reality sets back in

*** These next two chapters aren't exactly fun and they were difficult to write. I want to get to the fun stuff again. So bear with me. It will get happier, I promise.**

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I sat on the couch exhausted and watched Fang as he paced back and forth, bouncing Dilly lightly as she sucked a pacifier. After what seemed like hours of crying, Dilly was finally falling asleep. I couldn't understand it. She barely cried in the hospital, but at home, she was non-stop.

I looked at the clock and groaned. Great, she was due to eat again in twenty-five minutes. Just thinking about it made my chest sore and tingly. Less than a week home and I'd already had it. Nurse Ivy warned me that newborns could eat as often as every two hours, but that was a human newborn. Dilly had the need to feed every hour. She'd been like clockwork for the past three days.

Fang, or as I liked to call him, Saint Fang, took over night duty. He gave Dilly a bottle for four feedings. So, whoopie, I got to sleep from midnight to five a.m.

I was beginning to think the flock had some latent cockroach genes that had been triggered when we came home from the hospital. Except instead of scattering and hiding when a light came on, it was when Dilly cried.

Fang silently mouthed, "I'm taking her upstairs." Trying his best not to disturb her, he went up to our room.

Ah, alone at last. I closed my eyes and drifted off.

"Max. Max. Wake up," Fang woke me seconds later. Only it wasn't seconds later, it just seems like it. "Dilly's up. I think she's hungry."

"Can't you just give her a bottle? Please?"

"I fed her a bottle last time, while you were sleeping," he told me. How long was I out?

When I looked at the clock, I couldn't believe it was almost three and a half hours after the last time I looked. I was still exhausted though.

Without waiting for me to respond, Fang put Dilly in my lap. At least she wasn't screaming, simply fussing a little. As she nursed, I sat and watched the flurry of activity around me. Iggy, Miranda and John were busy cooking in the kitchen. Angel and Sunny were building block towers for James to knock down. And Gazzy was rewiring a lamp whose cord had been accidentally pulled off. I looked over at Fang, who had sat down next to me. His head was all the way back, his mouth hanging open with just a touch of drool coming from the right corner of his mouth. Cute, little, not-quite-snoring noises were coming from his nose. I wanted nothing more than to snuggle up to him. But no, I was stuck in place by Dilly-the hybrid vacuum cleaner. I could almost hear the circus music every time I called her that.

And so, this was our life. Pretty much the same, day in and day out. Sometimes Dilly cried less. Those were the good days, when she was predictable and stayed on schedule. Then there were the bad days, when she would spit up constantly and her head would spin around. No, wait, that was the Exorcist. I sometimes got them confused.

Saint Fang was perfect. He calmed Dilly down when she cried. He let me sleep when it was really my turn sometimes. He never wished out loud that she had wings, like I did. Never looked at her with anything but awe.

The rest of the flock adjusted to life around us, instinctively knowing to be quiet at nap time and to run and hide when Fang and I fought. And we fought. A lot.

* * *

When Dilly officially turned a month old, I was ready to hang up my nursing bra. Dilly's doctor said she was healthy and strong, and if I wanted to move to bottle feeding, it would be okay. Of course, like all the other doctors, and mothers, he told me it would be best to keep nursing.

And so began the latest argument. I wanted to stop and Fang didn't want me to.

"Max, don't you want what's best for her?" Fang guilted me. "It's only for another month or two."

"Jeb said we all got bottles. And you don't know how hard this is. I'm stuck in one place constantly. Besides, Nudge and Sunny always ask if they can help," I told him.

"Don't be so dramatic. I have to sit in one place when I feed her too. And it's not easy to be up alone in the middle of the night." More guilt.

"Yeah, but you don't have a vacuum tube sucking on you while you sit there. And I'm always hungry and tired. It takes a lot out of me," I complained.

"It's not like you do much else around here," Fang said. "I do most of the changing, bathing and playing with her." His voice was getting louder.

"That's not fair. You always offer and say you _want_ to do those things." My voice raised to match his.

"Because I know you _don't_ want to," he accused. "You act like it's all such an inconvenience. All you do is complain-complain that she doesn't have wings, complain that she's not telepathic like James, complain that she cries too much." He was yelling.

"Well, at least I'm facing reality. You pretend nothing's wrong, everything's perfect. Except me. I'm just a big old pain in the ass. You don't need me messing up your perfect little life!" I yelled back.

"Maybe we _don'_t need you!" he yelled back.

We both stood, stunned by what Fang just said. Dilly began crying in his arms.

"Max, I didn't mean that," Fang apologized calmly.

"No, I think you did. I hope you two have a wonderful life." I grabbed a sweater and selfishly took off from the back deck. It had only been the third or fourth time I'd flown since Dilly was born.

God, it felt so good to be flying. I missed it so much. It was April but still a bit chilly. I was glad I had the presence of mind to grab a sweater. I went into turbo mode to get as far as I could in a few minutes, then coasted above the mountains. My stomach growled. Why did I leave before lunch? And my breasts were getting that full feeling. I couldn't win, whether I was nursing or not.

Then the tears came. I couldn't see where I was going. No matter how much I wiped them away, more were already spilling out. I knew I shouldn't have left. That was the old me-taking off when things got too emotional. I'd been doing that to Fang for years. I wondered why the heck he put up with me.

I wasn't sure if he would forgive me this time. This time I left him _and_ Dilly. It's not like she wasn't in good hands. Heck, I knew she was better off with Fang than with me.

What I really needed was someone to talk to. Someone who would just listen without trying to fix things. Someone who wouldn't yell back if I said something stupid. Someone who would let me complain without feeling guilty. I knew exactly who I needed to talk to.

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I sat on the ground, on the new Spring grass that was now growing. There was new life everywhere around me- flowers, trees and animals.

"Nobody understands. They think I'm just a big baby, that all I do is complain. Okay, I do complain a lot. But it's so frustrating. Is it so bad to want what Iggy and Dani have? James is so easy to take care of. He just thinks what he wants and they know. He hardly ever cried. Dilly cries all the time, and I don't know what's wrong. I'm afraid she's in pain and there's nothing I can do. Everyone looks so annoyed when she cries, too, because I'm not good at quieting her."

"James is starting to fly, now. He's still a little wobbly but he's been practicing." I laughed, "He's better than you were when you first started. But you were a quick study." I sighed.

"Life was so much easier then." I laughed again. "Did I really just say that? We were still fighting Gunther-Hagen and Itex. In some ways it was easier, for me. I knew what I was doing. And I was good at it. I was a leader. People followed me. I saved the freakin' world."

I began crying again. Maybe it wasn't easier back then, but it was simpler. And back then, I would have been talking to Dylan, not a headstone. I wondered what he would have thought of me running away like I did. He'd give me heck, for sure.

I wiped my eyes. "I've really screwed up this time, Dylan. I don't know what to do. Fang probably doesn't want me to come back at this point. He could take care of Dilly by himself if he had to. You should see him. He's the best. I call him Saint Fang, you know, to be funny," I smiled. "But truthfully, he is a saint, for putting up with all my bipolar crap. He loves Dilly so much, you can see it. Fang is such a better parent than me. I'm a terrible mother. Everybody knows it."

Suddenly, I realized how tired I was. I was hungry, and my chest ached. But not because I needed to nurse. My heart hurt. My arms felt empty. They were missing Dilly and Fang. I wanted to go home. I just didn't know how.

"What if they don't need me? What if he hates me?"

I heard a noise behind me.

"Max?"

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*** thanks for reading :)**


	15. sorry

*** Okay, so I decided to post this one right away. Mainly because it goes with the last one and so you can read the sort of depressing, sappy stuff all at once and get it over with lol**

**people keep guessing about Dilly's wings and I don't want to come right out and say, but I've changed the timetable of what happens because of it. So you'll find out sooner rather than later.**

**and for those worried about a Nudge/Gazzy pairing-don't. I have no intention of putting them together. In fact, Nudge may never find out about the crush**

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Fang shouted something unintelligible. Then he shouted a string of curse words.

"Fine!" He yelled to no one. "Go! That's what you always do!"

Dilly was screaming in Fang's arms. He was horrified when he realized he was shouting so angrily while holding her.

The flock had disappeared when Max and Fang started fighting, but now some of them were slowly creeping back. Nudge walked up to Fang and carefully took Dilly from him.

"Fang, take a break." Nudge told him. "Go rest. You've been nonstop for the past month."

"I have to go find Max," Fang insisted.

"She'll come back when she's ready," Nudge said. Sunny had begun warming water for a bottle in the kitchen.

"I don't know, Nudge. I said things I shouldn't have said."

Nudge looked away, "I heard. But she knows you didn't mean it." Nudge shifted Dilly in her arms and bounced.

Fang picked up a pacifier from the coffee table and handed it to Nudge. "This might help." He walked to the stairs, shoulders uncharacteristically slumped. "Thanks, Nudge," he said, then went up.

Sunny brought Nudge the bottle and sat down on the couch with her. By then, Gazzy, John and Miranda had come into the Great room.

"Do you think we should call Dr. Martinez, or Jeb?" Miranda asked.

Jump came out of his room wearing a jacket. "I'm going to go look for Max. Anybody coming?"

"I guess everybody heard? Iggy said, walking down the stairs to join the rest of them. "I'm going to call Max's mom. She probably went there. You guys go look if you want, maybe she's just flying around nearby."

"Nudge and I will take care of Dilly," Sunny announced.

They all looked at each other, then split off to different tasks. Dani brought James down to keep Sunny and Nudge company. Jump, John, Miranda and Gazzy took off on their wild goose chase.

After a few minutes on the phone, Iggy filled in Dani, Nudge and Sunny. "Max isn't at her mom's. She didn't call either. But Dr. Martinez is on her way. Hopefully, Max will come home before she gets here."

"I've never seen Fang lose it like that," Nudge commented. "He's always so cool, always in control."

"It was kind of scary," Sunny said timidly.

_

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Fang lay restlessly on his bed, the argument with Max replaying in his mind over and over. _Why did I say that?_ he asked himself. _Because I'm an ass_, he answered.

He heard a knock at his door.

"Go away!" he shouted. If it was about Dilly, whoever it was would say so.

The door handle jiggled, but didn't open.

_Unlock the door, Fang. Please?_ Angel didn't want to shout through the door.

_I don't want to talk to anyone right now_

The door handle jiggled again.

_Please? It's important_

Fang sighed. He knew Angel wouldn't give up. She was even more stubborn than Max. He got up and unlocked the door, then flopped back on the bed.

Angel came in and sat down on the end of the bed.

"I know you don't want to talk, so just listen. I heard your argument with Max. We all did. But I've heard them from the inside,too."

He looked at Angel, "What's that supposed to mean? You shouldn't be listening in without us knowing, Angel."

"I know. But you're so loud, even in your heads, sometimes I can't help it." She gave him a moment in case he would start talking. But this was Fang. He didn't volunteer anything. "Max is right, you know."

Fang glared at Angel and pursed his lips tight. "Enlighten me," he said sarcastically.

"You're upset that Dilly doesn't have wings, too. And you think it's really hard to take care of her. And her crying is driving you crazy."

"Shut up!" he commanded.

"Why do you let her think she's the only one? She feels guilty for thinking that stuff and you make her feel worse, acting like it doesn't bother you," Angel said. "Max is worried more than anything. She really loves Dilly a lot. But Max is always worried that she did something wrong. Or that she'll do something wrong. She's worried that there's something wrong with Dilly and that's why she cries so much. But nobody's helping. You just make her think it's all in her head."

"It doesn't do any good to wish, or to look for problems that aren't there. I want Max to get over it so we can get on with our lives," Fang explained.

"But what if there really is something wrong? What if Max is right and she can feel it? Doctors don't know everything. Especially about us. You need to tell Max you're just as worried as she is."

Fang shrugged.

"And that you don't hate her," Angel added.

"She thinks I hate her?" Fang asked. He picked at a spot of dried spit up on the bottom of his shirt. "I don't."

"I know. You need to find her and tell her."

"You know where she is, don't you?" Fang asked.

Angel nodded.

* * *

"Max?"

I turned my tear stained face toward him, then quickly turned away.

He took a few steps forward. "Max, I'm sorry." Fang slowly closed the distance between us and sat down next to me.

"You're not a terrible mother. Nobody thinks that."

I slumped down further than I already was. "You heard that?"

"I heard everything you said to Dylan. I'm sorry you had to talk to him instead of me. But I can understand why," Fang told me.

"Yeah, there's something about talking to someone who doesn't talk back that appeals to me." I tried to smile.

"I'm so sorry I ran away. I am a terrible mother. A good mother wouldn't have left her baby," I said. "I promise I'll stop complaining and I'll change diapers more. And I'll keep nursing if you want . . . if you want me to come home."

"If? Of course I want you to come home. I need you to come home. We both need you. I was just mad. I didn't mean what I said." He lifted my chin to make me look at him. "And I don't hate you. I could never hate you. I love you."

I buried my face in his chest and hugged on as tightly as I could. We sat for a while by Dylan's grave until my legs started to go numb from the cold. The ground was still thawing from the winter freeze.

I suddenly gasped, "Who's taking care of Dilly? We've been gone a while."

"Nudge had her when I left, but I'm sure everyone is pitching in. We can go if you're ready."

I nodded and started to get up.

"Wait. There's something I need to tell you first."

I wasn't sure I liked how that sounded.

Fang sighed heavily. "I, um, I . . . you're not the only one who's frustrated with . . . " Fang paused again. "I'm disappointed, too. About Dilly's wings. I mean, no wings. And sometimes her crying drives me insane. I never admit it because I'm trying to be strong for you. But I don't know how much more I can take. We need more help." He smiled, "So much for Saint Fang."

I practically jumped on him, hugging him fiercely. All this time I thought I wasn't being tough enough. I felt like I was whimping out. He was just as exhausted by all this as me.

"Thank you." I kissed him. It felt like ages since I kissed him. It was almost like we forgot that we loved each other, we were so focused on Dilly. I forgot how much I loved those soft lips.

"Let's go home," Fang said.

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*** so, Saint Fang's not such a saint after all lol but at least they're on the same page for a change**


	16. cautious optimism

*** Here's a short one, but it'll bring up the mood from the last two chapters. Yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Max and Fang. I typed it up quickly so please forgive my typos and grammar mistakes :) Thanks for the reviews and adding to favs and alerts. Sorry OSCAR-THE-GROUCH17, but Dylan is not going to rise from the dead. He has sort of taken the place of the Voice in this story, though. Except, Max is really talking to herself when she talks to him. But, unlike the Voice, he doesn't give her annoying cryptic answers. I do hope James Patterson reveals the Voice in _Angel. _lol**

**Anyway, enjoy. I hope to update soon. It's a three day weekend!**

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We expected to walk in on complete chaos, but when Fang and I stepped through the door, the house was calm. Everyone was sitting at the table or breakfast bar eating dinner, except Miranda. She was lying on the couch, with Dilly, sleeping on top of her.

As selfish as it sounded, I was disappointed that they'd been able to get Dilly asleep without me or Fang, and that everything was in order. Show offs. Then again there were nine of them and only two of us.

"Max, you're back!" Angel called. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to us. By the mix of expressions from embarrassment to relief, I could tell they all heard my little temper tantrum.

"Sshhhh," Miranda whispered. "If you wake her up, I'm gonna have to kill you, Angel."

I walked over to Miranda and Dilly. Dilly looked like an angel herself. It was a look I didn't always take the time to appreciate.

"How long has she been sleeping?" I asked.

"Only about fifteen minutes. We all took turns holding and rocking her. We tried putting her in her crib. Nothing worked until I lay down here with her. As soon as I turned her over, she fell right asleep," Miranda told me.

"She's not supposed to be on her stomach," Fang said.

I know. I'm sorry, but I thought it would be okay if she was right here with me the whole time. And I didn't have the heart to disturb her," Miranda apologized.

Dani walked over, so she could keep her voice low. "We called your mom. She said it would be fine for a little while as long as we watched her should be here soon, by the way."

I was happy that Mom was on her way. But what did that say about me-that I needed so much help with my own baby? Or what did it say about Dilly? I'd heard the phrase 'it takes a village to raise a child' before. Whoever said it must have known Dilly would be born someday.

"Miranda was the only one Dilly would stop crying for," Sunny said, sounding a little put out.

"Probably because she thought I was Max, Sunny. Don't be so upset," Miranda said.

"Oh, I never thought of that. I bet she did." The wheels in my head were turning.

I guess that made me feel a little better. If Dilly thought Miranda was me, or close enough, that she was able to fall peacefully asleep, maybe Dilly really did like me after all. I was beginning to have my doubts.

"Hi, Dr. M," I heard Iggy say. I turned around to see Mom coming through the door.

"Thank goodness you're back. You had us all so worried."

_Thanks for embarrassing me all over again_, I thought.

"We just got back a few minutes ago," I told her.

Fang added, "It's all good." He took my hand. "Valencia, we think we want to take Dilly back to the doctors. Max thinks maybe they missed something."

It always caught me by surprise when he called Mom by her first name. He did that when he wanted to be taken seriously. It was Dr. M. when he was being respectful, and sometimes he'd even called her Mom. But that was rare. Most of the time, he didn't really call her anything, he just started talking. So, I knew he was serious and he was on my side about Dilly.

"I agree that she may need a more extensive examination. But I'd like to take her to the new facility at the school." She quickly corrected herself when I shuddered. "The Pierpont Academy, I mean. There's a medical wing attached. I believe it's open by now."

"So they'd be able to tell if anything's wrong?"

"Well, many of the doctors there are experienced with hybrid species, so they're better equipped than the hospital where dilly was born. I think it's time for blood work, an MRI and CT scan," Mom suggested.

"Max, Fang, go eat while you can," Miranda said. "I'll lie here with Dilly."

"You do look thin, Max." What else would a mom say? "Are you eating enough?"

"I eat the same as I always have," I answered.

"Well, it's not enough, sit down." Mom motioned to the dinner table. Some of the flock were finished and moved for me and Fang. "I'm going to call Roger to see when we can bring the baby in."

"Roger?" Fang asked.

"He's working at the Academy's medical center."

"Oh, that's great," I said. There was something in her voice when she said Roger's name, like maybe she was trying to sound too casual. I quickly forgot about it as I sat down to chicken and potatoes.

Later, after dinner was long cleaned up, Dilly had been fed a few times and some of the flock were in bed, Fang and I sat in our room. I was getting ready to go to sleep and Fang had Dilly in his arms, ready for night duty. I knew he must be exhausted.

"Maybe you could just lie down with her up here. Put her on your chest like Miranda did," I suggested.

"What if I fell asleep? I'd be too worried I would roll over onto her. Besides, the doctor said she needs to sleep on her back."

"I know. But she seemed to sleep so much better on her stomach, like us. Hey, do you think sleep habits are genetic?" I laughed.

"No dummy," he smiled. "It's because we have. . . " he trailed off.

I put my hand on his arm. "It's okay to say it. We have wings. She doesn't. We sleep that way because of our wings. Not saying it, doesn't make it not true."

He didn't seem to want to talk about it. He never did. I guess I could understand. As long as she was too little to fly anyway, we didn't really_ have_ to talk about it.

"I'm going downstairs now. Get some sleep." He smiled, but it was a sad smile.

I, on the other hand, was feeling pretty good about things. Fang and I were talking instead of fighting. Dilly was going to see a new doctor. And I might just be able to use Miranda as a sub once in a while. Yep, with that as the last thought going through my mind, I slept like a baby. A baby other than Dilly.

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*** Thanks so much for sticking with it :) R&R**


	17. second chances

*** I've been a little update crazy lately, not that I've heard any complaints lol I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's been rattling around in my head for a while and it's one of my favorites. And it's a much needed feel-good chapter.**

**Thanks to CheyRainAwesomeness, OSCAR-THE-GROUCH17, turtlelover0511, & NightOwlGirl for reviewing! btw, NOG-Max and Fang didn't flip out about the prospect of testing because at this point, they're desperate. LOL Plus, I need them to go through with it to keep my story line ha ha**

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"What do you want?" Roger asked Ella.

"Mmm, Swedish fish? No, Snowcaps. Wait, can I have both?" Ella smiled. "And popcorn, no butter. And . . . a Coke."

"You're going to be able to eat all that?" Roger asked.

"I'll share," Ella grinned. "Mom wants a diet Coke and pretzel bites."

It was Saturday night and Valencia was sitting in theater number 6, holding seats for the three of them. It was definitely not a movie she would have chosen for herself, but she and Roger promised Ella weeks ago to take her. Ella insisted they would all love the romantic comedy starring her favorite actress of the week. Not to mention the hot newcomer that was supposed to be the love interest. Valencia sighed as she looked around to see that the average age of most of the other movie-goers was about half hers.

After waiting roughly fifteen minutes, Ella's mom finally saw her and Roger approaching with arm loads of food.

"Did you leave anything for anybody else?" Valencia joked.

Ella handed her the pretzel bites, while Roger handed her the drink. Roger put his drink in the cup holder and sat down with a tub of popcorn, leaving a space between him and Valencia for Ella. Ella was about to sit down when she suddenly yelled, "Dana!"

She waved to her friend several rows away.

"I'll be right back," Ella said, handing her food and drink to Roger and Valencia.

Roger spoke when Ella left, "Valencia, are you sure you don't want to go back to Max's house? I know she's worried about the baby's upcoming appointment. I'll stay with Ella."

"No, it's fine. Max has Fang. Although sometimes he's a bigger wreck than Max is," she laughed. "The rest of the flock is helping out and there's really nothing more I can do. They just have to wait until Monday."

"You look worried too," Roger pointed out.

"I am, a little, I suppose. This is totally new territory. There is so much we don't know about the flock's physiology. We know even less about this new generation."

"James seems to be progressing well. There's no reason to think Dilly won't as well." Roger smiled, "She _is_ Max's daughter, maybe she's simply being difficult."

Valencia laughed. Sometimes she wished she could be as easy going as Roger-when he wasn't being obsessive-compulsive, that is. He was still somewhat of a mystery to her. He hadn't changed that much since their days together. At times, he viewed the world with child like awe and other times he was analytical and logical. She didn't always know which Roger she was going to get. But it always seemed to be the one she needed.

When Ella returned, she informed them that her friends had invited her to sit with them and could she pleeeease sit with them.

"Dana. Is she the girl that lives two doors down?" Roger asked.

"Yes."

"And who else?" Valencia inquired.

"Candy and Laura."

"And?" Roger prodded.

"And Jason and . . . Wyatt." Ella blushed.

"Wyatt, hm?" Roger said thoughtfully. "You know this boy?" he asked Valencia. Ella rolled her eyes.

"Please, Mom?"

Valencia sighed, "Fine, just find us at the end of the movie."

Ella gathered up her goodies and practically skipped to go sit with her friends.

Valencia turned to Roger, "I'm sorry. We don't have to stay."

"No. We're here. How bad can the movie be?" Roger moved over a seat to share his popcorn.

Unfortunately, they found out just how bad the movie could be. They ended up whispering through half the film, getting shushed a few times by an older woman in the row in front of them. Fortunately, there had been only one, relatively mild sex scene, during which Roger and Valencia remained uncomfortably silent.

At the end of the movie, Ella found Roger and Valencia in the hall outside theater 6.

"Wasn't that good?" she asked.

"I don't know if good is the word I would use." Roger laughed. Valencia smiled.

"Sooooo," Ella began. The way she drew out the word 'so' made Valencia believe she wasn't going to like what Ella was going to say next. "Dana asked if I wanted to sleep over. Laura's sleeping over too."

"Ella, your father came to spend the evening with you," Valencia scolded.

Ella turned to Roger. "I'm sorry. I haven't hung out with them in so long. I promise next week we'll do whatever you want to do. Even if it's going to something sciencey and boring."

"Ella!" Valencia chided.

Roger put a hand on Valencia's arm. "It's okay. I didn't really want to hang out with my dad when I was her age, either. She should be with her friends on a Saturday night."

"Well I think it's rude. And you dragged us to this movie for nothing."

Ella looked down, embarrassed. "But didn't you have a good time?"

Valencia wasn't sure what to say to that. She enjoyed the company, but the movie was terrible and there had been another movie that she actually wanted to see. "Well, that's not the point," she replied.

"Valencia, let her go. I don't mind, really," Roger smiled.

Valencia sighed, "It's just you and Laura going to Dana's? No boys, right?"

Ella giggled. "No, you're the only mom that let her daughter have a boy spend the night."

"That was different. And besides, the dog was guarding Fang. And this isn't about Max anyway. And sassing me isn't the way to get what you want." Valencia crossed her arms over her chest.

Still grinning, Ella apologized. "Just kidding. I know it's not the same. I'll make up for tonight, I promise."

"I'll pick someplace particularly boring for next week," Roger chuckled.

* * *

Roger drove Ella and Valencia back to their house and Ella ran in to quickly pack for her sleepover.

"Make sure you take the dog out before you go!" Valencia called to her. "Aye, aye. That girl."

"She's wonderful," Roger said.

"It's only nine-thirty. Would you like to come in? I bought more of that crappy wine," Valencia laughed. Roger couldn't help laughing too.

"It'll go great with this left over popcorn," he joked.

"Actually, Ella made an apple tart. I don't know if it will go with wine, but we could try."

"That sounds great," Roger agreed. He found himself getting slightly nervous at the prospect of spending time alone with Valencia. But he was looking forward to it.

Valencia was in the kitchen slicing pieces of tart, and Roger was just pouring wine, when Ella rushed through the living room with her sleeping bag in hand. "Oh, I thought you left," she said to Roger, sitting on the couch.

He stood and walked to her to kiss her forehead. "Not without saying goodbye," he said.

She whispered, "Thank you for talking mom into letting me go."

He smiled at her. "You owe me."

Ella looked at the wine, then toward the kitchen and said. "I don't think so. I'd say we're even."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Roger smirked.

"Uh, huh," Ella said. "Enjoy your wine." She started for the kitchen to say goodbye to her mom, then turned back. "Are you really going to make me do something boring next week?"

"Nah, I was thinking rock climbing."

"Really?" Ella's eyes lit up. "You're pretty cool." She hugged him. "Thanks Dad."

Roger hugged Ella back silently, afraid to believe what he just heard. If he heard correctly, that is. He didn't acknowledge her, on the off chance she didn't say what he'd been hoping to hear.

Ella pulled back, "Should I not have said that? I'm sorry. Is it too soon?"

A grin spread across Roger's face that he couldn't have stopped if he tried his hardest. "No. It's not too soon. It's about time." He hugged her again. "Thank you."

Ella smiled, "See you next week, Dad." She walked into the kitchen, kissed her mom goodbye and went out the side door.

Valencia brought two plates into the living room and set them down on the coffee table.

"Would you prefer some coffee? I can make decaf," she smiled. Valencia walked to the fireplace and switched it on. It didn't have quite the same cozy feeling as a wood burning one, but close enough.

"No, thanks. Wine is good. So's the apple tart."

Valencia frowned. Roger seemed a little distant. She hesitated before asking, "Is everything okay? You don't have to stay if you'd rather not."

"What?" He looked at her. "No, it's not that," he beamed. "Ella called me Dad before she left."

"Oh, Roger. You don't know how happy that makes me,"

"I didn't realize how happy it would make me," Roger shook his head. "Who'd have thought."

They talked for a couple of hours, mainly more stories of Ella's childhood. Roger loved hearing them and Valencia loved re-living them. Every so often, something would remind them of a time during their relationship. Usually some quirk that Ella shared with her dad.

". . . so she took out a ruler and measured each stroke of the crayon. It took her an hour and a half to color that one page," Valencia cracked up.

Letting out a belly laugh himself, Roger reminded Valencia of the time he did a similar thing with a presentation he was making. "But if I recall correctly, the boss said it was the best presentation he'd ever seen, Val."

She stopped laughing and blinked. "No one has called me that since . . . since you last called me that. Actually, no one else ever called me Val besides you."

"Oh. It just slipped out. Don't you like to be called Val?"

"I, I like it when you call me that." She suddenly felt like the young woman she was when they met. Shy and unsure.

Roger leaned forward and kissed Valencia without warning. He took himself by surprise as much as her. He leaned back just enough to see her reaction.

She gave him a small half smile, tilted her head and closed the distance between them. As they kissed on the couch, they eased back onto the side pillows until they were reclining, smooshed side by side. Hands began roaming as the kissing deepened. Roger's hand slipped up the back of Valencia's blouse, fumbling for the clasp of her bra. She ran her fingers through his still thick, but slightly graying hair.

It had been so long since Valencia had any kind of real connection with a man. Sure, there had been dates and a couple of flings. But no one to stir real emotion. She was just now realizing that was probably because she had never truly gotten over Roger.

Still frustrated by being unable to unfasten the bra hook, Roger glided his hand around the front and simply lifted her lacy undergarment and made contact with her silky skin.

Valencia gasped through her nose, and stopped kissing Roger. He froze, then retreated to the other side of the couch, not able to meet her gaze. Inside, he cursed himself. Again, his behavior was more like that of a teenaged boy than a man in his early forties.

Valencia straightened herself up and cleared her throat. "Um, it's getting late. I think it's time for bed."

Roger sat on the couch and nodded, as Valencia stood and crossed the room to turn off the fireplace. She moved to the entrance of the hallway and paused.

"Well, aren't you coming?" She held out her hand.

He looked up, startled. Roger literally leaped over the coffee table to get to her. For once he was glad to be acting like a teenager. He hoped to continue that trend for the next hour or so.

mrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmr

Ella's key turned noiselessly in the lock as she entered the house Sunday morning. Crossing the threshold, she noticed Roger's jacket on the back of the recliner. She shook her head and smiled. That man would forget his head if it weren't attached to his body. Ella remembered how happy he looked last night when she called him Dad. She realized that it made her happy, too.

She walked into the kitchen and pulled out a box of cereal and the milk. When she sat down, she looked across the hall into the living room and noticed something under the couch. She got up to investigate and discovered a pair of men's shoes. Okay, he could have forgotten his jacket, but not his shoes. Ella ran to the window to find that Roger's car was still parked out front. She hadn't noticed when she walked home from Dana's house.

Ella sat back down to her cereal, but could barely keep the milk from dribbling out, her smile was so wide. As she was finishing, she heard the click of her mother's bedroom door and quiet conversation. Ella sat still at the kitchen table, waiting for them to come down the hall.

"I don't think we should tell Ella about any of this yet," Valencia said quietly. "She probably won't be home for a couple of hours, but you should leave before she gets home. I'll make us a quick breakfast, though."

Roger kissed her cheek. "I really don't think she'll be upset. She's sort of been lobbying for us to get together."

"So, she's been badgering you, too?" Valencia smiled.

"Subtly. More or less," he laughed.

They walked into the kitchen hand in hand and came to a halt when they saw Ella's smiling face. Valencia felt her face flush, and she saw Roger blush, his mouth agape.

Ella tried to think of an opening line that would give her the most bang for her buck. "Good morning. I hope you remembered to use a condom."

That did it. "Ella!" She didn't think her mother could have gotten any redder than before, but she was wrong.

"Well, isn't that what you always tell everyone?"

Roger couldn't help chuckling at the situation. "She's got you there, Val."

Valencia began to clean out the coffee maker, muttering unintelligibly under her breath with her back to Roger and Ella.

"So, are you together? Like, for real?" Ella asked hopefully.

Roger leaned closer and whispered to her, "If I have my way." Ella beamed. She wanted nothing more than for her mom to be happy. She was always so busy taking care of everybody else, especially now, with Max's baby. Ella sighed contentedly, pouring herself another bowl of cereal to have breakfast for the first time ever with her parents.

* * *

*** Aw, I'm kind of crushin' on Roger here, so I'm going to have to write him in more :) *sigh***

**Thanks so much for reading! Unfortunately, I don't have anything else typed up yet, so I'm not sure when my next update will be. So much more to come, though. I haven't even gotten to the school, yet!**


	18. chchchchchanges

*** Wow, it seems like forever since I posted last. Sorry about that. Another fic was taking precedence and I also had a little writer's block thing going on with this story. I think I'm past it :) Anyway, we're getting back to Dilly. Originally, this chapter was going to be much later in the story, but because everyone was asking, I thought I'd get it over with. This whole chapter-not exactly groundbreaking-somewhat predictable, but it answers important questions for anyone not quite following along.**

**Thank you to all my regulars that reviewed the last chapter! And to a couple that added to favorites :)**

**the first part is Max's point of view, the rest is third person. I don't usually like to change POV in the middle of a chapter, but the third person stuff wasn't really enough to be its own chapter.**

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* * *

**

"Will you sit down? Please," I asked Fang for, like, the fifth time.

"How can you just sit there?" he asked me.

"Well, if you're going to pace, you may as well hold Dilly. She's getting fussy." I stood and handed her over. "You want anything out of the machine?"

Fang simply grunted. I turned to Gazzy and Jump. "How about you?"

Gazzy stood, "Hmm, can I get a . . . wait, I'll go with you."

"I'll take an iced tea," Jump said.

Gazzy and I walked down the hallway of the Pierpont Academy Research Center. It was much less hospital dreary than most of the places we've been, thanks to some input from the future residents and students. The walls of each room were painted in calming colors, with murals done by some of the kids in the hallways. Dani helped paint one of them. Even though, technically, it was a medical facility, PARC, as they liked to call it, didn't give us all the willies.

We were anxiously waiting for Mom, Roger and some other doctor to come and tell us the results of Dilly's many exams and scans. Fang was ready to burst and I had to get away from him before I punched him.

Gazzy and I stood in front of the vending machine eyeing up the goodies. I put in a dollar and pressed the button for iced tea. It looked good, so I got another one.

"What do you want Gasman?" I asked.

"Can you not call me that?"

"What? I called you Gasman. What did you think I said?"

"Yeah, that's what I don't want you to call me," he said.

"Okay," I sighed. "What do you want Gazzy?"

"That either," he said, still looking over the selections.

I huffed. "What am I supposed to call you, then?"

He glanced quickly at me and said, "I've been thinking of changing my name.

"To what? I don't know if I could get used to calling you something different," I told him.

"I don't know. Zephyr is still a cool name."

"Zephyr? Really? I thought that was just a joke name."

"Well, it was. But almost anything is better than Gasman," he said, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"What's this all about? Why all of a sudden don't you like your name?" I asked. "And why are you here today, anyway?"

"Never mind," he said, and walked back down the hall empty handed.

Okay, I guess I was a little preoccupied with my own reasons for being there, but Gazzy had been acting so strangely lately. Admittedly, I didn't really take the time to try to figure out what he was trying to tell me. I put a bunch of money in the vending machine and picked some random treats to bring back.

I handed Jump his tea, and spread the rest of the loot on the small table in front of the chairs.

"Still nothing?" I asked Fang, even though I knew the answer already. I took Dilly from him and told him to grab a snack.

"How are you so calm? I feel like I'm back in a cage," he said.

"Because I got all my crazy anxiety out of my system already, I guess." This was a switch-me calm, and Fang freaking out.

Mom came out of Roger's office. All of a sudden, I wasn't so calm anymore.

"Well?" Fang asked.

"Max, Fang, you can come in. We're ready for you," Mom said.

Fang didn't wait for me, he walked in immediately. I followed with Dilly in tow. Butterflies were starting in my belly as I tried to imagine what Mom, Roger and some doctor I didn't know, would have to say.

There were several large images hanging on a light board. They looked like x-rays, but more detailed. The details meant nothing to me. I sat down in a chair next to Fang, whose face displayed no emotion, but his foot was tapping rapidly.

Roger was the first to speak. "These are some of the images we took of the baby. We checked her out from head to toe, and the good news is that her lungs and air sacs are fully developed at this time. And her internal organs all appear to be functioning normally. Also, we've seen no signs of lymphoma or disease. The blood tests came back normal, or what we gather is normal for your species. We've compared her results to yours."

Roger barely finished speaking, when Fang began. "Then what's the bad news?"

"What makes you think there's bad news?" the unnamed doctor asked.

Fang glared at him. "You don't usually start out with 'the good news is' unless it's followed by the bad news. So just spit it out!"

"Fang," I tried to calm him down. "Is there bad news, Mom?"

"I'd say, more like mixed news," she smiled. Fang crossed his arms over his chest. He looked like he was losing patience fast. "Let me explain. We think we know why Dilly has been so fussy."

"That's a nice way to put it," I mumbled.

Mom walked to the images on the light board. "See this? This is one of the pictures we took of her back." She pointed to the series of bones that made up her spine. That much I could figure out, at least. "Her spinal column is curved, up here."

"And that's bad?" I asked.

"Well, for an all _human_ it would be. But that's not all."

She took the image down and put up a new one. It was an x-ray of her entire back. "Right here are her shoulder blades. They're larger than they would be, if she were completely human. Her spine is curving inward at the same place as her shoulder blades." She put up another x-ray. "This one is a human baby. I wanted you to be able to see the difference."

Fang and I both got up to get a closer look. Not that either one of us really knew what we were looking at.

"What's this?" Fang asked, pointing.

"Well, they appear to be extra bones, growing where wings would be," Roger told us. "They're attached to her shoulder blades."

Fang's eyes grew wide. Probably mine too.

"You think she's growing wings?" he asked, so hopefully, it almost made me cry. Is that really what they were saying?

"Like I said, we can't be positive at this point," Roger reiterated. "But, in our limited knowledge. Yes, that's what we're thinking. Time is the only way to know for sure."

"How much time?" I asked him.

"That's the bad news," Mom said. "There's no way to know how long it will take. And most likely, it's somewhat uncomfortable for her. Possibly even painful."

"And that's why she's been so miserable? She's in pain?" Fang questioned. He looked at me, a guilty look on his face. "You were right. All this time. You knew there was something wrong and I didn't listen."

"Fang, don't. It's not like I knew for sure. And I was acting kind of whiny about it. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Now we know."

"We _think_ we know," Roger emphasized.

"Well, what else could that be?" Fang asked.

"Honestly, we're not sure," Mom said. "I'd like to examine your wings more closely, Max. Take some x-rays and a CT. Maybe I can get a better idea of how Dilly's will grow in."

"What about the pain?" Fang asked. He still had that worried look on his face, the one I only saw for Dilly and me. "Is there anything you can do for her?"

"I hesitate to give medication at her age. But if she seems in a lot of pain, over the counter meds would be okay," Mom suggested. "Just try to keep her as comfortable as possible."

Suddenly I remembered Dilly sleeping on Miranda's chest, and the couple of times I let her sleep that way on me, too. "That's why she sleeps so well on her belly. Sleeping on her back must hurt."

"Probably," Mom said, biting her lip. "Max, I know what you're thinking, but I'm still nervous about Dilly sleeping on her belly."

"Val, her lungs and air sacs are both well developed. As long as they don't use extra bedding around her face, she should be fine," Roger reassured.

Dr. Whatever agreed, " She's got a redundant system. I think Dr. Gates is right. Besides, she's a little undersized and good sleep is crucial for her development. As much as nutrition." Then he addressed me. "Are you nursing?"

"Yes, but . . . I was told by another doctor that I could go to bottles. She eats every hour or two." I glanced at Fang to see his reaction. He was anxiously watching Dr. Whoeverhewas to see what he would recommend. I knew that whatever he said, Fang was going to take it as gospel and I'd have to follow.

"Every hour or two? Boy, that's a lot," he said, to my surprise. "Let's see if we can give you a break. How about a bottle every other feeding?"

I perked up a bit at that. "Okay." I looked at Fang, "See." I know, very mature.

Fang rolled his eyes. "So that's it? You don't think there's anything wrong with her. She's just probably growing wings."

"Like I said, she's a little small for her age, but then again, she was almost a month early," Dr. Notsobad said. "It could be why her wings didn't develop. She wasn't in utero long enough."

"This my fault?" I asked him.

"No, Max. Babies come when they come," Mom tried to put my mind at ease.

Dr. Likinghimbetterallthetime added his two cents. "Oh, no. Your mother is right. There's no telling if it would have made any difference at all if she had gestated longer. This is a new frontier. We don't know what to expect."

I let out a sigh of relief. Even Fang visibly relaxed. We sat quietly, digesting everything the doctors told us.

"Wait, did Roger call you _Val_?" I asked.

Mom blushed. I was about to ask another question, but Roger interrupted.

"I have to go speak with Jump. I'll talk to you later, okay?" He patted my mother's arm. "Max, Fang, Dr. Schaum."

Oh, that was his name. "If you have any questions, give me a call. And bring the baby back in, say, two weeks. We'll check her progress then." Schaum reached out his hand to Fang, who just looked at it for a moment before he realized he was supposed to shake it.

"Okay," Fang said.

I didn't look like quite the dork when he went to shake my hand. "Thank you, doctor," I said for both of us.

He smiled brightly. "No. Thank you, for letting me in on your daughter's case. We'll take good care of her." He turned to Mom. "Just call to make an appointment, Dr. Martinez." And he was on his way, too.

"Do you really think it's true, Mom? Is she really going to have wings after all?"

"It looks that way," she smiled. "I know that must put your minds at ease."

And that's when I finally lost it. All the emotions I was trying to keep in check came pouring out. The relief, after over a month of tension and anxiety, was overwhelming. Fang put his arm around me as the tears fell.

"I'll give you a moment," Mom said and she left.

Fang let me get it out of my system, in Roger's office. And I think he got it out of his, too. But he would never admit it.

mrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmr

Roger walked up to Jump and Gazzy, sitting in the waiting room. "Hi, boys. How are you today?" he smiled.

They both said hello and fidgeted nervously in their chairs.

"Jump, um, my office is still being used right now. How about we take a walk."

"Oh, okay," Jump stood and glanced at Gazzy, who curiously watched them walk away.

"Your test results have come back. The paperwork is in my office, but I can give you the basic rundown here." Roger cut right to the chase. "It seems your suspicions were correct. Your sperm count is zero," Roger paused. "But it wasn't simply concern about too many hormones, was it?"

Jump blushed, but said nothing.

"Because, fertility is not something your typical sixteen year old thinks about."

Jump remained quiet.

"I understand that this is somewhat embarrassing, but I want to help if I can."

Still Jump said nothing.

"Okay, well, the next step, if you want to take it, is a more extensive physical exam. It should be done by a doctor specializing in fertility, though, not me. He'll look for the cause. And hopefully, the treatment." Roger and Jump walked silently for a few minutes.

"I guess she'll be glad it's not her," Jump said sadly.

"Jump, you're very young. Too young to be considering children," Roger reminded him.

"I wonder if she'll find someone else." Jump was talking more to himself than Dr. Gates. He looked over to Roger. "That's what girls want, isn't it? They want to have babies and families. All the girls fawn over James and Dilly. That's all Nudge ever talks about." He realized what Dr. Gates must have been thinking. "I'm not doing anything with Nudge. We're just friends. I was using her as an example is all."

"I'm not here to judge you. You'll remember that I got my girlfriend pregnant and I supposedly knew better." Roger smiled, rather embarrassed himself.

That was why the flock liked Roger so much. He wasn't afraid to admit to his mistakes. He was easy to relate to. Unlike Jeb, who hides himself from everyone, most of the time giving only half-truths. Jump never would have even thought about how Ella came to be if Roger hadn't brought it up.

"It's kind of ironic," Dr. Gates said. "Many young guys leave contraception to their girlfriends or don't think about it at all. And they end up unwitting fathers. You're very aware of the problem, and yet, it appears you needn't worry about it. But, the only way you'd know you were infertile is if you had sex and didn't use birth control. Over a period of time. It's kind of a catch 22. Do you see my confusion?" Roger waited for Jump's response.

Jump decide he'd better tell Dr. Gates the entire story. He was pretty much busted anyway. Dr. Gates probably already knew he and Miranda were together.

"Let's go back to my office. I'm sure it's free by now," Roger suggested.

In the end, Jump decided he'd rather know what's going on than wait. Though, he wasn't looking forward that 'more extensive exam' Dr. Gates mentioned.

mrmrmrmrmrmrmrmr

Gazzy stood as soon as he saw emerge from Dr. Gates' office.

"Are you ready for me?" he asked.

"Hold on Gazzy, I have to find an office. Max and Fang need some time," she smiled.

Gazzy looked worried. "Is everything okay? What do they need time for?"

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. It's good news. Um, but I think I'll let them tell you." She walked down another hall, then came back a minute later. "This way, Gazzy."

He followed her into the generic office. It was painted a soft green and had the same light grey tile with shiny flecks that the rest of the facility had. It still had the same type of furniture that a typical doctor's office would have, but Gazzy felt oddly comfortable in this room. Maybe it was the large painting of an ocean scene on the wall.

"How have you been feeling?" Dr. M asked Gazzy.

"A little better," he answered. "But now, sometimes I get heartburn. And sometimes I feel like I can't get filled up."

"I'll help you choose some foods that can be filling and safe. You can take over the counter antacid tablets for heartburn," she explained.

"So, what is it? Am I allergic to food? Some foods? Am I gonna have to live without lasagna for the rest of my life?"

Dr. Martinez took out a pamphlet and handed it to Gazzy. "This should help." She waited for him to look over it. "You have a disease called celiac. You can't digest gluten, or wheat products. It's why you've always been, um, gassy. It's amazing to me that you haven't complained until now."

"It used to be kind of funny," Gazzy said, embarrassed. "But, the last six months or so, it's been getting worse. And not just the gas. I feel like I'm forgetting stuff or that I'm spacing out. I don't know how to explain it."

Dr. M smiled, "You're doing a great job of explaining it. That's why I knew what tests to have the lab run. It's probably gotten worse with the onset of puberty." She noticed Gazzy blush. "Once we get you fully on the proper diet, you'll be feeling better than ever. The mental fatigue should go away, too. It could take months before the effects are reversed completely. And you'll have to keep this new diet for life."

"So, no lasagna, huh? No mac and cheese?"

"Not necessarily," Valencia offered. She smiled at the surprised look on his face. "They make noodles out of things other than wheat. It won't be exactly the same, but it'll be close."

Gazzy looked at the pamphlet again. "What's this? Quin-oh-ah? And sorghum sounds weird."

"That one is pronounced like keen-wah. And, honestly, I don't know what sorghum is. But you can have corn, rice, and potato products. Plus any meat, as long as it's not battered with flour. And all the fruit and vegetables you want. You're not lactose intolerant, so most dairy will be okay. You're going to have to read every label of prepared food."

Gazzy was getting dizzy with all the new eating rules, but he couldn't live on beef jerky and potato chips. "I'm gonna have to tell everyone, aren't I?"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Dr M assured. "Truthfully, Jeb should have picked this up years ago." Gazzy thought she sounded annoyed. "But if you want Iggy to cook for you, he'll need to know. I strongly suggest you also learn to cook for yourself, as well. And, it would be easier if everyone adjusted their diet slightly to accommodate."

"Oh, they're going to _love_ me." Gazzy rolled his eyes.

"They already do. I promise, it won't be as hard as you think. Let's make up a menu together and I'll take you shopping. When we get back to the house, I'll help you explain to the flock."

"What a pain in the butt," Gazzy complained. "Everyone's gonna have to change stuff because of me."

"That's what families do, Gazzy. Think of all the changes in your life because of James and Dilly," Valencia reminded him.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. I want to know what the good news is. I hope it's that they figured out how to get Dilly to stop crying," he laughed.

He bit his lip. "Uh, thanks Mom." He hugged her, not knowing what else to say. She hugged him back and simply said, "You're very welcome."

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*** So, everything is out. Yay, Dilly's going to get wings! It was always the plan, just pushed up a bit. And, as far as Gazzy goes, the whole farting thing was funny when he was a little kid in J.P's books, but as a teenager, it's a little awkward. I wanted him to be able to have relationships with kids outside the flock. Really bad gas would kind of get in the way, but I didn't want to ignore it either. Hope you like my solution.**

**also, if you'll remember, the new flock was supposed to be infertile and the whitecoats were testing that theory with Jump and Miranda, so that wasn't a big surprise. And no, they are not going to be trying to have a baby. Two is plenty in this story!**

**Thanks for reading! please review. I'm a little iffy on some of the story line and I appreciate your input :D**

**btw-anybody catch the title? or are you all too young? lol**


	19. bona fide birthday

*** Hello all! I felt a little detached from this story for a while, but now I'm back. Thank you to Turq8 (actually, Gazzy could probably eat all the desert rat he wanted lol), NightOwlGirl (hug back), Turtlelover0511, OSCAR-THE-GROUCH17, and CheyRainAwesomeness for reviewing the last chapter. I never wrote too much about Gazzy's "talents" before, so I don't think I'm going to miss them. But there are plenty of other things to write for him. The next couple of chapters are going to bring a few new characters. I know, there are already so many, but the new ones will interact with the flock and bring Angel, Sunny, Gazzy, John and especially Nudge back to the forefront, where they belong. Now that Dilly's situation, along with Max and Fang's relationship, is somewhat stabilized, I want to concentrate on the younger set.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

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"It's a little overkill, don't you think?" Iggy asked. "I mean, I can't even see them, and I know there are too many decorations."

"This is the first time we're celebrating an actual birthday-that we know for sure. Of course we're going overboard!" Nudge said.

"But James won't even care. He's _one_."

"We'll care. We're doing this for ourselves as much as James," Angel chimed in. She and Sunny were hanging blue and yellow streamers in the great room, while Nudge was blowing up balloons.

Iggy stood with his arms crossed. "Don't just stand there Ig, get moving on the cake," Nudge said as she began pushing him toward the kitchen.

"He's my kid, Nudge. You don't have to tell me to make a cake. And you guys didn't even ask if we wanted you to do all this stuff." He was raising his voice, seeming a little too defensive.

"It was Dani's idea," Sunny said softly.

"Oh."

John, Jump and Gazzy came in the door with a large box and two smaller ones, followed by Jeb.

"Which one did you get, guys?" Angel asked.

"The red one," John replied. "They didn't have the blue one. And we got the Little People house and a bunch of extra people. We're going to paint wings on all of them."

"Don't paint the baby's yet. We don't know what color they'll be," Sunny reminded them.

"You bought presents?" Iggy asked.

"Of course, it's a birthday party," Jump answered.

Iggy frowned.

"Did everyone buy presents?" Iggy asked.

"Yeah, well, it's kind of all from all of us," Nudge answered. "Jeb paid for it." She smiled at Jeb in appreciation, but he shook his head, knowing how Iggy would feel about it.

Iggy stomped up the stairs to go talk to Dani.

"Oh, hey Iggy," Dani smiled when she saw him in the doorway. When she saw the frown on his face, her smiled dropped.

"What's wrong?"

"Did you plan a big party for James? Even after we decided not to make too big a deal?" Iggy huffed.

"But everyone's so excited about it. Especially the younger kids," Dani explained.

"So you just decided on your own, without me."

"Iggy, why are you so upset about this? It's only a party. Nudge told me how you guys would pick a day at random and celebrate all your birthdays together. But it's not the same. And the rest of us have never even thought of celebrating birthdays."

"Did you know Jeb bought the presents?" Iggy fumed.

"Uh, well, Iggy, he pays for lots of stuff. Or the CSM. Or some other group."

"That doesn't bother you?" Iggy asked.

Dani shrugged, "We do appearances and stuff," she said, trying to justify.

"I hate being a charity case. Somebody's always footing the bill for us. This house, our food, our clothes. _Our_ baby's gifts. I'm sick of it."

He started pacing in the room. Dani was afraid to speak, so she just watched him.

"At least when we were on the run, we took care of ourselves. Yeah, we had to steal sometimes, but it was better than needing a handout for everything!"

James was finished getting his diaper changed and stood watching Iggy with wide eyes.

"They just want us to be circus freaks! Entertainment for people who want to gawk. There aren't any causes that mean anything anymore. Nothing to fight for! We're just a bunch of soft and lazy celebrities on a free ride."

"Iggy, you're scaring James," Dani said quietly when Iggy paused.

"What?" he yelled.

"Your son, remember?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have something to fight for-him. _He's_ our cause. We live this life for him, so he can have it better than we did. No cages, no locked, white rooms, no digging in the trash for dinner. If people want to try to make up for all the crap they put us through, then I say, let 'em. They owe it to us. It's not charity, it's compensation," Dani replied.

"Come here, buddy." Iggy knelt and held his arms out for James to walk into. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He scooped James up in his arms. "Of course I want things to be better for James. But you don't understand. You and James are _my_ responsibility. I'm supposed to take care of you. I should have been the one to buy his birthday presents. Instead, all I have to give him is some stupid-never mind." He shook his head. "Dani, I don't even feel like a man, much less a husband and father."

Dani put her arms around Iggy and James, making a James sandwich.

"I understand more than you think. You're a great father. And husband." She kissed Iggy softly, and James reached up and gave a drooly kiss, too. "Eww, James, yucky," Dani laughed. "He loves you so much, you know. That's why I do this. That's why I don't feel guilty taking money or things from whoever wants to give it. So we can give James what he deserves. What else can we do, anyway?"

Iggy furrowed his brow and put James down. "I'm going to get a job."

mrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmr

"Happy Birthday, dear James. Happy Birthday to you!" It was just about the worst rendition of Happy Birthday anyone had ever heard.

"We should have let Dani and Nudge sing it by themselves," I laughed.

"I think we scarred James for life!" Gazzy said.

It was the first time, in a long time, that we were all happy together. No crises. No one fighting. No screaming baby. That was the best part. For me, anyway. We finally got Dilly on a good schedule and even though she still seemed to be in pain every so often, we were able to manage it. It had been a month since we took Dilly for the scans and by this time, she had little nubs on her back with funky, goosebump looking skin. The doctors, and Mom figured her feathers would start growing out of the bumps. Again, it was all a matter of time. But at least _something_ was happening.

We all watched James open his presents, including a Power Wheels Lil' Quad, that all the boys thought was great. Mom brought him a helmet and knee pads to go with it, of course. He loved the Little People and house, too. Sunny sat down on the floor to help him set it up, while Iggy served cake.

I watched my flock, talking, smiling and eating cake on our first real birthday party and started to get a bit choked up. Boy was I getting soft.

I walked over to Gazzy. "I'm sorry you can't have the cake," I sympathized. "Are those things any good?"

Gazzy took a bite out of his gluten free cookie and shrugged. "It's better than farting all the time."

"Nice, Gazzy."

He laughed, "Better for you guys anyway. I'm getting used to it. There's still a lot I can eat. It's really okay."

I ruffled his hair, "Good." I wanted to tell him that I loved him, but he doesn't go in for that mushy stuff, so I gave him a quick hug instead.

I noticed Iggy and Fang with their heads together in the corner. Iggy looked like he was doing most of the talking and Fang was nodding his head a lot. Nothing good could come of these two with their heads together.

"Can I hold Dilly?" Elle asked. I hadn't realized she had come up next to me while I watched Fang.

"What? Oh yeah, sure." I handed the baby over. "Just make sure you put your hands behind her head and low on her back."

"I know," Ella said, sounding a little irritated. "It's not like I haven't held her before. Can I feed her next, too?"

"Huh?" I asked absentmindedly.

"Can I feed her?" She waited. "Some dog food?"

"Yeah."

"And then toss her around like a football?"

"Yeah, yeah. Wait, what?"

"You're not listening to me," Ella complained, but smiled. "But if I had someone like Fang, I wouldn't pay attention to me either."

I felt my face get warm. "I'm sorry Ella."

"No, it's cute. You're still crazy in love with him after everything you've been through. Or is it _because_ of what you've been through?"

Fang saw me watching him with my face flushed and smirked. I was afraid that tingly butterfly feeling would be gone forever after Dilly was born. We got so wrapped up in all our problems. As embarrassed as I was at the moment, I was glad the feeling was still there.

"Yeah," I sighed.

Ella giggled at me and rolled her eyes. "I don't know who's worse, you or Mom. Dad's been staying over every weekend."

"Since when did you start calling him Dad?" I asked.

"Since right around when they got back together." She furrowed her brow slightly.

"I thought you'd be happy. What's wrong?" I asked.

"I am happy. But I think Mom wants to move closer to the Pierpont Academy and work there. They offered her a job, but she'd have to sell her veterinary practice."

"And you don't want to move?"

"Not really," Ella confided. "I have friends, I'm settled finally since the last move. I know Mom would have a long commute if she takes the job at PARC if we didn't move . . . "

"You don't think she just wants to be closer to Roger, do you?" I asked the obvious question.

"Maybe."

"Are you okay with that?" I had the feeling nobody asked her how she felt about it.

"Well, of course. I'm glad they're happy. But . . . what if it doesn't work out again, and we've already changed our lives and I've left my friends for nothing? Dana and I do everything together."

"You need to talk to Mom and Roger. Tell them how you feel." I smiled. "But I wouldn't complain if you moved a little closer to us."

"Hi Ella." John walked up to us holding two plates of James' birthday cake. "Want some cake?" he smiled. I noticed the one he held out to Ella was neatly sliced with a big frosting balloon on it.

"Uh, I can't really take it right now, thanks," Ella answered.

"Oh, let me take Dilly back so you can eat that. After all, he went to the trouble of bringing it to you."

Ella glared at me, but handed Dilly back. She took a plate from John. "Thanks," she said sweetly.

I walked away and earned another glare, leaving Ella to talk to John alone. I snickered to myself. I thought it was cute how he sometimes followed her like a puppy dog. Clearly, Ella didn't.

I was making my way over to Fang and Iggy, but decided to take a detour to my mom first.

"I hear things are going pretty well with Roger,"I said casually.

"So, far," Mom replied coyly.

I debated wether or not to bring up what Ella told me about PARC. "Um, Ella ells me you've been offered a position at Pierpont. Are you thinking about it?"

"I'm considering it. I'd have to do some catching up, though. The research has come a long way since you were conceived. I mean, look at the new flock. Just twelve or thirteen years later, science was able to reproduce them so quickly."

"Mom, you're getting a little . . . I don't know, excited about this. PARC isn't going to be doing _that_ kind of research, is it?" I worried.

"Oh, Max, no. The research part of the facility is strictly for studying and improving care for the residents. But the technology used to create Miranda and the others will be very helpful," Mom assured me.

"Really? I hope so. I know you wouldn't be involved in cloning more hybrids, but as we've seen too often, not everyone shares our views."

"If I take the job, it would be in the medical care wing. Sort of like the school nurse," she laughed. "But the research side would be able to help me do my job better. Besides, Roger is there to make sure things are done properly."

"Oh, yeah, speaking of Roger . . . how serious is this?"

A smile broke across her face. "It's fairly serious. Roger wants me and Ella to move."

"Closer to him?"

"In with him. But before you say anything, I'm not ready for that. If I take the job, I'll have to give up my practice. And I'd want to be closer to work. It would be nice to be a lot closer to you and the baby, too."

"Just make sure it's right for all of you," I warned, probably sounding too much like a parent.

"Of course. Nothing's decided yet. The Academy doesn't officially open for a couple more months."

Fang walked up behind me and kissed my cheek.

"Fang, I noticed that you never made time for that appointment with Roger," Mom smirked.

"Oh, um . . ."

"Give it up, Fang. You're not going to get out of it," I laughed.

"I'll have Roger make time for you the next time you bring Dilly in for an appointment," Mom told him, not really giving him a chance to say no. Fang sighed heavily.

Changing the subject, Fang stroked Dilly's hair. "How's our girl?"

"She fell asleep once the singing stopped."

"She doesn't seem too fussy today," he noticed.

"It's a good day," I said. "Hey, what were you and Iggy up to? You looked like you were planning something sneaky."

"Nothing sneaky. Iggy says he's getting a job. I'm gonna get one too," he told me.

"What are you guys going to do? What can you do? For money, I mean." I had to hear this one.

"Security," Fang answered curtly.

"What kind of security? Like, security guards?" I wasn't sure I liked the sound of that.

"Maybe, or bouncers," he added.

"No offense, but who's going to hire a couple of skinny kids to be bouncers?" I chuckled.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "You know we can kick anybody's ass, Max."

"I know. But seriously, if I owned a bar, I'd take one look at you and laugh."

"Until I kicked your ass," he smirked. "Iggy and I are going to start heavy training again, tomorrow."

"I want to train too," I said quickly.

"You need to take care of Dilly."

I glared at him. "I can train while she naps. Or I can get someone to watch her for a little while. Come on, just a couple hours a day. Please?"

"Maybe you can work out with us for part of the time. But we need to really get back in prime condition." I felt he was being awfully condescending. I was waiting for him to say-'wouldn't want you to hurt yourself little lady'.

"What about everybody else? Maybe they'd want to train too," I suggested.

Fang sighed and cast his eyes upward. "We just wanted it to be the two of us. You know, heavy work outs."

"Fine. You two do your thing. I think I'll organize training for the rest of us."

Fang put his hands on my shoulders and rubbed them lightly. "Max, don't be like that," he said softly. "Iggy and I need to do this. We need to take care of our families. We're both tired of everyone else providing things for us. I know I won't be able to make enough money to get everything the whole flock needs, but I want to be able to at least get Dilly what she needs. And you. I need to be a man."

So there it was. I guess it was something that even the whitecoats couldn't genetically manipulate out of them. The caveman mentality that made them want to take care of their women. It was sweet in a way. A little outdated, but sweet.

I leaned toward him, careful to make sure I didn't smush Dilly in the process, and kissed him. It was obvious by the look on his face that he was expecting a fight, not a kiss.

"I understand," I grinned. I really did. It's hard not to take responsibility when you feel you should. It was the reason I could never give up being the leader. The flock was my responsibility and always would be, no matter how big it got. Dilly and I were _his_ responsibility and he was going to do whatever it took. And I loved him dearly for it.


	20. Nudge who?

*** Hi all! Just got Angel, and wanted to post this before I started reading it. However, I couldn't help myself and started it last night. Can't say I'm particularly thrilled with where it's going so far, but I'm keeping an open mind since I'm only halfway through it. Anyway, thanks again to my reviewers-girlreadsalot, turtlelover0511, CheyRainAwesomeness, STALLION OF THE CIMARRON, NightOwlGirl, and Ner-sa Low-e (another newbie) I also appreciate the favs and alerts :D**

* sorry for the change here. I accidentally said STALLION OF THE CIMARRON was a new reviewer, when in actuality she(?) has reviewed several times. Oops :) I deleted and rewrote so many times I wasn't paying attention to what I was typing lol

**Anyway, finished Angel this afternoon, and in a word, UNSATISFYING. Not that I think _I'm_ all that-after all, I'm not a rich and famous author. Anyone else who's read it, feel free to share your thoughts via PM**

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Fang turned to his left to avoid the fist coming at his jaw, only to be kicked in his right rib cage. It stung and he staggered slightly but remained on his feet. He spun, delivering a blow to his opponent's left cheek. His next several punches failed to land as his combatant ducked and weaved with amazing speed. The subsequent jab caught Fang in the side of his head.

"Ouch! Damn it!" he yelled.

Fang couldn't seem to make contact other than the occasional block his foe would make. They were both breathing heavily, attacking with vigor, desperately trying to take the other down.

Fang swept his leg around and kicked his opponent's foot out from under him, then socked him with his left fist.

"Hey! Watch that stupid ring!" Iggy howled. "You cut me!"

Fang hunched over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

"Sorry, Ig. I've never sparred with my wedding ring on." Fang stood up straighter. "Jeez, I'm out of shape. I barely laid a hand on you. How are you still so quick?"

"I can still hear you coming. And I know how you fight. And it's the first day of training," Iggy said.

"Stop patronizing me. These past nine months have made me soft. I feel like my reflexes are shot," Fang complained.

"It wasn't _that_ bad, Fang. We'll just keep going."

An SUV pulled up the driveway toward the house. Jeb. Fang watched as Jeb and three kids got out of the car.

Fang leaned toward Iggy and whispered, "It's Jeb. He's got three kids with him. I don't see any wings or anything."

Iggy whispered back, "I heard Nudge talking about their tutors coming today, to meet us. Well, mainly, the ones that they'll be tutoring."

"Fang, Iggy," Jeb called out.

"Jeb," Fang muttered.

"Whatcha got there, Jeb?" Iggy asked.

"These are the kids' tutors. They'll be catching them up so they can start school at the end of July," Jeb answered. Jeb put a hand on the shoulder of each child as he told their names. "This is Maeve, Troy and Jane. Kids, this is Fang and Iggy. Iggy is blind, but you don't have to worry about treating him differently."

"Tactful as usual, Jeb," Fang said.

The two groups regarded each other for a few moments. The kids looked Fang and Iggy over, craning their necks to get a better view of the wings. Finally, one of the kids spoke.

"Which one is Iggy?" The strawberry blonde girl with the accent Fang couldn't quite place asked.

Iggy held up his hand. "That would be me."

"Iggy, you're bleeding," Jeb noticed.

"Yeah," Iggy said, brushing a hand over the scratch, smearing a bit of blood. "Fang got me with his ring."

Jane glanced at Fang's hands. "You wear a ring on your left hand?" She was as plain as her name-straight, mousey brown hair that she wore in a braid down her back. Long bangs covered her light blue eyes, so much that the color was hard to discern, especially behind her dark framed oblong glasses. She spoke with a tiny lisp because of her braces. Jane's rounded shoulders and avoidance of eye contact gave away her discomfort at meeting new people.

Fang held up his hand and wriggled his fingers, "I'm married."

Jane was thankful for the hair in her face when her gaze was drawn upward following his hand. She felt herself blush when she saw how gorgeous he was.

"Wow, you're married already? How old are you?" the boy asked.

"Eighteen, I think. Close enough," Fang answered. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen," he said, looking up at Fang. "I'm Troy. My dad is a researcher at the new Pierpont center. You're _r e a l l y_ tall," he said slowly. He turned to Iggy, "You too."

"We're all really tall. Except Jump. He's about this tall." Iggy held up his hand level with the bottom of his ear. It was still several inches taller than Troy and the girls. "Well, the younger ones aren't as tall, but they're still growing."

"You ought to get that cut cleaned up, Iggy," Jeb interrupted. "Come on kids, I'll introduce you to the rest of the flock." He waved them on to follow him.

Nudge and Gazzy were playing checkers in the Great room while Dani played on the floor with James. Angel walked into the kitchen to grab a Coke.

"Someone's coming," she said. "Some people I don't know. And Jeb."

Jeb walked through the door with the three wide-eyed teens. Nudge was about to make her red checker jump Gazzy's black one, but stopped in mid air to gape at the newcomers. Gazzy turned to look.

"Are those the tutors?" he asked.

"I sure hope so," Nudge replied. Gazzy looked at the object of Nudge's distraction, then back at Nudge, and scowled. She tossed her checker aside and got up to greet them.

"Hey kids, I'd like you to meet some of the students that will be attending school with you. Where are Sunny and John? I'd like them to be here too," Jeb said.

"I'll get them," Angel offered.

Nudge couldn't help staring at the boy in the group. He was looking around the cabin in awe and barely seemed to notice that there were people in the room. His skin was a coppery golden tan. Nudge had seen pictures of people with skin that color when Max made them look up different areas of the world during one of their 'lessons'. She couldn't remember if they were from the Middle East or the Mediterranean, but it was something like that. The boy's hair was thick and dark with streaks of the same coppery color-a mop of loose curls that sat on his head in perfect disarray. His eyes were the color of chocolate surrounded by a fringe of thick lashes. Nudge suddenly realized that she was getting such a good look at his eyes because they were looking back at her. She quickly looked away.

Angel returned to the Great room, followed by Sunny and John.

"Great," Jeb said smiling. "Now I can introduce all of you." He put a hand on Jane's shoulder. "This is Jane. She'll be tutoring Angel and Sunny."

Both girls gave half-hearted waves of acknowledgement. Jeb continued.

"This is Troy. Nudge, he'll be tutoring you."

"Hi," Nudge said, blushing. She was glad her skin was dark enough to hide it usually.

"Hi," Troy answered. "You guys are pretty tall, too."

"They just met Fang and Iggy outside," Jeb explained. "And this is Maeve."

Maeve smiled, revealing two small dimples on her freckled cheeks. The freckles spread across her nose and up onto her forehead. Her hair was strawberry blonde, similar to Iggy's but redder, worn pulled up high like a thick mane. There was just enough curl to make it bounce but not enough to make it tangly.

But her eyes were what caught everyone's attention-a light golden brown that shined so bright they seemed to almost reflect the light. At least that was what Gazzy thought. And she was smaller than the others, which made her appear Sunny's age. She had a mature air about her that belied that appearance.

"Maeve is fourteen. She'll be tutoring John and -"

"Zephyr. My name's Zephyr. You'll be tutoring John and me."

The flock all gaped at Gazzy, but not one of them gave him away. It was kind of the code. If any one of them started telling tall tales to strangers, the others went along with it. Even Jeb had the sense not to rat him out.

"Anyway," Jeb started. "I thought before you begin formal tutoring, it would be a good idea to get to know each other."

"Great idea Jeb," Angel spoke up. It seemed only the flock realized she was being completely sarcastic.

"All of them have at least one parent involved with the Pierpont project in some way. Jane's mother, for instance, is a teacher and her father is a scientist. Troy's father is also a research scientist. And both of Maeve's parents are doctors in the medical facility."

John shifted on his feet. "Can we get the wing thing out of the way?"

"What?" Jeb asked.

"They're all wondering about the wings. They want to see 'em and touch 'em. Go ahead if you want to."

The three teens looked around uncomfortably.

"We didn't mean to stare," Troy offered.

"You weren't. You were thinking it." He paused. "Jeb didn't tell you some of us are telepathic?" He shot a look at Jeb. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been listening in. A habit when meeting new people. You know, to make sure they're not evil," John laughed nervously.

"You'll get to know all those things about each other. In time. I'm sure you all have a lot of questions for each other."

"Like where'd you get your names?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, they're all so unusual. Except yours, John," Jane noted.

"Somehow, I didn't get a cool nickname like everybody else. So I'm just boring John."

"I know how you feel," she said quietly. "I was named after a boring scientist."

"So, can we really touch your wings?" Maeve asked getting back to John's offer. "I've read about you. But I thought there were only six of you." She glanced over at Dani and James, who was building a skyscraper out of blocks.

"We kind of acquired some extra family along the way," Nudge explained. "There are thirteen of us all together now."

"Is that her baby?" Jane asked. Dani picked up James and walked over.

"This is James. He's one. And I'm Dani," she smiled. "I'm one of the newer models," she joked.

James reached out and pulled Maeve's hair.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. He loves to pull hair," Dani apologized.

Maeve just laughed. "It's okay. For some reason, people like to touch my hair." She untangled James' fingers from her hair and took a step back. "He kind of looks like the blind guy outside."

"Iggy. Yeah, that's his father," Dani told her.

"Are you married, too? You're awfully young to have kids," Troy observed.

"No, we're not married," Dani answered. She'd never been embarrassed before about having James without being married. She and Iggy never even talked about it. But now that she thought about, she wondered if they should.

Maeve nudged Troy in the ribs. "Don't be rude."

"What?" he shrugged. "We're supposed to ask questions. Personally, I'm dying to see the wings."

John spread his wings as wide as he could with everyone standing around. Jane and Troy immediately began inspecting and studying and asking questions.

"Don't you want to see 'em?" Gazzy asked Maeve. "Dani's are really pretty. They're darker than most of ours and they've got speckles on them."

"It's okay," Dani said and spread her wings enough to see the pattern.

Maeve stroked the small feathers. "It's amazing. And you can fly, right? I've seen pictures, but I thought they were doctored. I'd love to see you fly in person."

Jeb cleared his throat. "Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, I'd like to give you time to talk together. Let's set up some expectations and a schedule."

Angel rolled her eyes.

"And I don't want anyone reading minds. If you have a question or something to say-say it. Same rules apply to these kids that apply to the flock," Jeb chastised. Although John was able to read minds, Everyone knew he was talking to Angel.

"Um, Mr. Batchelder?" Maeve approached. He took her aside while the others made small talk.

"I'm not comfortable with them reading my mind. Maybe someone else would make a better tutor."

"Only John and Angel can really get in your head. Angel can be a little belligerent, but generally, the flock are a good bunch. You can trust John. For now, don't get too close to Angel if you're uncomfortable," Jeb advised. "Besides, you'll be working closely with John and G-" he suddenly remembered that Gazzy gave the name Zephyr.

"Zephyr, right?" Maeve finished.

"Right. Actually, he's Angel's biological brother. But he's not telepathic at all."

"Oh. Okay." She felt a bit better about it. But she decided she'd steer clear of Angel and the little dark one whose name she forgot already.

The kids all broke off into groups. Nudge walked Troy outside to show him around and to watch Fang and Iggy train. Angel and Sunny took Jane into their room, while Gazzy, John and Maeve sat at the kitchen table. Gazzy regaled them with stories of fighting Erasers and other strange beings, as well as some of his favorite explosive devises. John still hadn't heard many of the flocks exploits and was as captivated as Maeve.

"You're a good story teller," Maeve commented. "You should consider writing a book."

"Story teller?" Gazzy questioned. "I'm not making this stuff up. Really. Tell her John. You were there in Iraq."

John nodded his head but could see that Maeve thought they were kidding, or at least exaggerating at least.

Jeb was left standing with Dani and James as the younger kids split off.

"I saw Iggy and Fang out front. They're training again?"

"Yes. They want to get back into fighting shape. I think they're both going stir crazy with nothing to do. Iggy wants to get a job."

"Really? Doing what?" Jeb asked.

"The only thing they know how to do-fight. Iggy thinks maybe they can be security guards or body guards or something," Dani told him.

"If they're serious, I can bring in a trainer. But why would they need jobs? I get offers all the time from groups and companies looking to book you," Jeb said.

"Really?"

"Mainly public appearances. I know you don't like doing them, so I only tell you about the ones that I think you'll be interested in. What is it that Fang and Iggy need? Whatever you need, I can get for you," Jeb offered.

"That's the problem, they got it in their heads that it's charity. They want to take care of us themselves," Dani said.

"Don't think of it as charity."

"Oh, I don't. I think we've got it coming, for everything that's been done to us. But the boys, well ,they have too much pride. And I guess because we brought James and Dilly into the world, not the scientists, they're our responsibility."

Jeb nodded. "I get that. "I'm sure I can help them if that's what they really want."

"But maybe try not to make it look like you're helping too much?" Dani asked. "The pride thing, you know?" she laughed.

"Got it," Jeb answered. "By the way, why did Gazzy call himself Zephyr?"

"I don't know. Maybe he doesn't want to be called Gazzy anymore, since he's not anymore," Dani joked.

"Oh, yes. I heard about that," Jeb said in a low voice. "He's doing well?"

Dani smiled, "Much better. It was hard for him at first, but he's come to terms with missing some of his favorite foods. And he's been less moody and distracted. Plus, the stomach problems are completely gone."

It had never occurred to Jeb, or anyone else at the School to investigate Gazzy's condition. They were more interested in testing their theories and trying to figure out how to make bigger, badder mutants. The comfort of the flock-or any of the experiments -was low on the list of priorities. Jeb felt a pang of guilt, knowing that Gazzy had suffered needlessly from an easily reversed condition for years.

_Add it to the heaping pile of guilt already on my plate_, Jeb thought.

Jeb walked to the table where Maeve was telling John and Gazzy about how her parents, sister and she moved from Ireland when she was young. Maeve had just a trace of an accent since she had only been three. Listening to her parents growing up had kept just enough of an accent to be noticeable. Gazzy sat enraptured, listening to her speak about her hobbies, interests and aspirations.

Every once in a while, John would kick him under the table.

_Stop drooling_

Gazzy sat up straight and looked at John. He'd never heard him inside his head before. Was his telepathy getting stronger?

Gazzy casually wiped at his mouth. No drool.

_Jerk_, Gazzy thought

_She's older than you, you know_

_ So, Ella's three years older than you_

John's mouth drew tight. He didn't think anyone but Dr. Gates and Ella knew about that. It must have been a spying Angel and her big mouth. He was stewing about Gazzy's comment, not really paying attention to the conversation. So when Maeve asked him a question, he had no idea how to answer it.

Gazzy and Maeve looked at John, waiting for a response.

"Uh, what?" John asked.

Gazzy nudge him under the table.

_Just say no_, Gazzy thought

Still confused, John finally answered, "Um, no." Although it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Oh. Okay," Maeve said. "If you're sure. I guess it's just you and me, Zephyr."

Gazzy stood. "Let's start with the deck out back. The view is amazing. Then I'll show you around the grounds. There's a lake nearby, too. When it gets warm, we can go swimming." He realized that he may not be able to show her the lake after all. "We fly there, though. I don't know if you can get there by car."

Jeb was still standing there and interjected. "I've driven there. It takes a lot longer, obviously, but we can get there in the SUV."

Gazzy turned to smile at John. "See ya later." He opened the glass door to the deck and walked Maeve through before closing it again.

_You suck_, John thought.

"Everything okay, John?" Jeb asked.

"Fine," he answered, watching Gazzy and Maeve through the glass.

"I can get another tutor for you if you're not comfortable with Maeve."

"No, no. I just didn't feel like going with them. Actually, I could use a snack," John replied.

"I was going to order pizza for everyone. Sound good?"

"What about Gazzy? I mean, _Zephyr_," John laughed. "Do we really have to call him that?"

"Just go along with it for now. He's got his reasons," Jeb told him. "So, Gazzy doesn't eat pizza? What should I order for him?"

John had the urge to tell Jeb to order Gazzy something gross or that he doesn't like, but in the end decided it wouldn't be worth the retribution later on. "He usually gets a big grilled chicken salad or a steak."

"Thanks," Jeb said and took out his cell phone to place an order.

mrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmr

"So here's the deal," Angel began. "You just pretend to tutor us, and we'll let you hang out with us. We'll even answer questions and show you stuff."

"But, I'm supposed to prepare you for school," Jane protested.

"We're only going for a little while, and only because we promised Dr. M. we'd give it a try. School isn't going to teach us about real life. That's what we need," Angel explained. "You haven't lived enough to teach us anything practical."

Jane furrowed her brow and thought. "Okay, I'll make a deal with you. I'll help you pass your tests, so they think you're learning something. But what I want in return is for you to help me be. . . cool. Street smart."

"What?" Sunny asked. "How are we supposed to do that? We're not exactly the coolest kids on the block ourselves."

"Are you kidding? Look at all of you. You're _so_ cool, you have wings. And other cool stuff. Each one of you is prettier than the last. And the boys . . . " she trailed off, blushing when she pictured Fang. "I'm plain Jane, literally. Let's just say, as the only child of a scientist and a science teacher, I've never been particularly popular."

Angel and Sunny looked at each other.

_Tell her she has to take our tests for us or make cheat sheets or something_, Sunny thought

_Yeah, and do any papers or homework for us._ _She's not that bad looking. We could do a make-over. _

_ Ooh, Nudge could help,_ Sunny suggested.

"Okay. Deal," Angel agreed. "But we'll need cheat sheets for tests. And, you'll have to do our homework, too. All of it. In return, we'll help you change your image."

"Deal," Jane held out her hand. Each of the girls shook on it.

_That was easier than I thought it would be_

_ She drives a hard bargain, _Sunny agreed.

_I like her_

_

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_***the rest of the evening (dinner and Nudge & Troy's walk) will be in the next chapter. And as promised, Gazzy will not end up with Nudge. And even though Maeve has him thinking Nudge who? I don't know if there's anything there yet, either**

**let me know what you think :)**


	21. pizza, cookies and Mr Batchelder

*** First of all, thanks to NewHampshireMan155, NightOwlGirl, turtlelover0511, and Shayna-18 for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks for the thoughts on Dilly's wings. I had been thinking they'd be mostly black. I think light hair with black wings would be cool. And Jane's appearance, like Angel's, can be deceiving. She's not bad, just tired of being wallpaper-you know-fading into the background. lol**

**This chapter doesn't have a ton of action, but some important, yet subtle, foreshadowing is occurring. And the new kids get a bit of insight into the flock's former lives.**

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Nudge walked Troy outside, practically talking non-stop the whole time. She gave him the rundown of the flock's life since she could remember. Unlike Gazzy, she didn't go into gory detail about the bloody and deadly fights, or disgusting food (or not food, as the case may be) they ate. And she most definitely didn't mention that they often had gone weeks without bathing.

They paused to watch Iggy and Fang fight. Fang was still frustrated that Iggy was able to dodge him most of the time, but he was landing more punches than he was earlier. It was like riding a bike. They never really forgot how to fight, and it was coming back to them quickly.

Fang caught Iggy's jaw with an uppercut, making his teeth clang together hard. Iggy staggered back a couple of steps.

"Nice one," Iggy said, rubbing his jaw.

"I faked you out good," Fang laughed.

"They're really hitting each other," Troy observed.

"Oh yeah. How else are they going to prepare?"

"Prepare for what?" he asked.

"Getting hit. When you're in a real fight, you don't have time to stop the bleeding or cry," Nudge said.

Troy looked wide eyed. "Have you been hit like that?" he asked Nudge.

"Yes," she answered quietly. "I've had some broken bones. And my wings got hurt real bad, too. But we heal fast," she added.

"Wow," Troy said softly.

Nudge was anxious to change the subject and the scenery.

"Let's leave them to their training," she suggested. "So, how did you get to be a tutor?"

"My dad volunteered me. He wants me to get to know a lot of the kids. I'm supposed to tutor three other kids besides you."

"Oh. Then, you didn't really want to?" she asked.

"I don't mind. I'm an only kid and my dad and I moved a round a lot so I never really had many close friends. My dad means well. He's just trying to make sure I get to know some people. I think he's planning to stick around this place," Troy explained.

"Does your dad make up freaky creatures like some of the other scientists? Or does he do other research?" Nudge asked.

"He used to. He works strictly human, now. His big thing is stem cell research."

"What about your mother?"

"She's not alive anymore."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry," Nudge apologized.

"No, it's okay. It was a long time ago, when I was about six. It was some kind of lab accident. Mom was a scientists too. She did some work with hybrids. Simple organisms, though. Not like you guys." He gave Nudge a sideways glance, noticing she looked like she felt bad for asking about his mom. "What about you? Did you know your parents? I figured out that they're not in the picture anymore."

"No. One time, I thought I found my mom, but we were never sure. Iggy and Max are the only ones who know who their parents are. You know Jeb is Max's dad, right?"

"I haven't met Max yet. Mr. Batchelder did tell us one of you is his daughter."

"We've only known for a few years. It's a long story, but Jeb lived with us for a while after he broke us out of the old School. Then he seemed like a bad guy. Now he seems good. But, who knows."

Troy was confused. "So, you're not sure you can trust him?"

"Exactly. Don't get me wrong, we mostly do. He does a lot for us. It's complicated."

"And Iggy? You said he knows his parents?"

"We met them. Iggy went to live with them for a little while, but then they tried to make money off him. They practically tried to sell him. He left and came back to us. Every time one of us leaves the flock, bad things happen," Nudge said.

They walked the grounds for a time, trying to keep the conversation lighter, until they saw Jeb's SUV pull up.

"Pizza's here!" Nudge squealed. "Let's go help him bring them in." They jogged back to the car as Jeb began taking out boxes and handing them to Iggy and Fang. Jeb held out four more for Troy to take.

"I got these Nudge," Troy said, thinking he was being quite manly carrying four large pizza boxes for her.

"Okay, I'll get the rest," she smiled. She took the last five from Jeb and started to walk to the house.

"How many pizzas did you get?" Troy asked Jeb.

"Seventeen. And a large grilled chicken salad," he answered holding up a big paper bag.

Troy whistled. "Wow, that's a lot of food. You got twenty more people coming?" he joked.

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The flock (minus a couple of members) Jeb, and the three new teens sat in various places to eat pizza. Most of them were able to fit at the long kitchen table. Angel, Sunny and Jane opted to sit at the breakfast bar, while Dani sat on the floor with James.

"Is Max coming down?" Miranda asked.

"Dilly is a little fussy today. Max is trying to get her to take a nap," Fang answered. "Where's Jump?" I haven't seen him all day. Iggy and I were going to ask him if he wanted to train with us."

"Wait, just him? Why not me? I want to train too." Miranda complained, ignoring Fang's original question.

A few others in the room echoed "me too."

"Uh, well, we're going to be really fighting-"

"And I can't fight?" Miranda wasn't backing down and Fang winced at her tone. It was the same tone Max took when she thought Fang was being sexist or over protected.

"Um, Max said she was going to do her own training to get back in shape. She thought some of you would want to work out with her instead."

Miranda huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "What, and do yoga?"

"Fine," Fang acquiesced. "You can train with us, too. I guess it would make more sense to have even numbers for hand to hand. But don't come crying to me if you get a few bones broken. We won't go easy on each other."

"I don't cry," Miranda said sternly.

"I think I'll train with Max," Nudge said. John and Gazzy chimed in as well.

"Who's Max?" Maeve asked.

"The leader," Gazzy answered.

"Of what?" Jane questioned.

"The flock. She's always been our leader. Kind of like our mother. Well, except for Fang. They're married," Gazzy explained.

"Hey Gazzy, pass the red pepper flakes," Fang said.

The flock all froze and looked at each other in alarm. No one remembered to tell Fang and Iggy that Gazzy was using his alter ego name.

"Ah!" Fang yelled and held his head. _One at a time_, he thought. Angel and John had both been trying to tell him to call Gazzy Zephyr at the same time. Who knew two people yelling at you inside your head could give you such a headache?

John nodded to Angel and she explained to Fang, then Iggy what was going on. That left John to take the heat for Gazzy.

"It wasn't me," he said to Fang as he picked up the pepper flake bottle and handed it to him. "If you smelt it, then you musta dealt it," he laughed.

Others at the table giggled.

"Real mature," Fang muttered. "But _you're_ the one with broccoli on your pizza."

Dani chimed in from her spot in the Great room. "Yeah, broccoli makes James toot like there's no tomorrow." She chuckled, "And his poop turns green."

"This is a crappy conversation," Gazzy joked.

More giggles.

"Trying to eat here," Nudge complained. She glared at John, Dani and Gazzy. This was not the impression she wanted to make on the new kids.

"Trying? I'd say you're doing a pretty good job," Troy observed. "You ate like, three quarters of a pizza."

"Yeah, sorry for ruining your appetite, Nudge. You usually eat a whole pie," Gazzy said sarcastically.

"Wow, really?" Troy asked.

_Great. Now he thinks I'm part pig_, Nudge thought.

"We all eat that much," Iggy said through the food in his mouth.

"Say it, don't spray it," Angel whined.

"Bird genes," Iggy continued after he swallowed. "Our metabolism is super fast. And after working out with Fang, I'm ready for another pizza. If you really have two pieces left, can I have 'em, Nudge?"

Nudge tossed her last two pieces onto Iggy's plate.

Maeve turned to Gazzy. "Don't you have to eat a lot too?"

"Yeah," he said shoveling a large forkful of salad and chicken into his mouth.

"Then why'd you get salad?"

Gazzy wished she'd just drop it. "Don't like pizza." He took another bite.

"So, you won't eat pizza, but you ate rat?" Maeve smirked, thinking she had him.

"We were pretty desperate," Iggy said casually. "And that's not even the worst thing we ate."

"At least the rat wasn't already been chewed, leftover in the dumpster," Nudge added.

Maeve's eyes went wide. "You mean, all that stuff was true? I thought you were just messing with me."

"We wish," Nudge said.

Everyone ate in silence for a few moments, either reflecting or trying to grasp the revelation.

"So, what's for dessert?" Iggy asked, jarring everyone out of their rumination.

"I don't know. What are you making?" Dani called out.

"I'm in the mood for cookies," Sunny said meekly. "Can you make cookies?"

A lot of nods and yeses all around.

"How can I possibly say no to you Sunny," Iggy smiled. "Chocolate chip or snickerdoodles?"

"Can't we have both?" Sunny asked sweetly.

"Yeah, now that you've said it, I want both, too," Dani declared, licking her lips. "Iggy, I'm licking my lips."

"Well, then forget the cookies . . ."

"Eww, gross," Gazzy grumbled.

Iggy nudged Gazzy. "You won't always think so," Iggy said, making Gazzy blush.

"I'd rather have the cookies," Dani laughed.

More yeses all around.

"All right already. Both," Iggy gave in.

Maeve, Troy and Jane watched in awe as Iggy flawlessly gathered the correct items from all over the kitchen. Gazzy explained to Maeve how Iggy could sense colors.

"And stuff that's really similar gets stored in different parts of the kitchen so he doesn't mix 'em up."

"So that's why Mr. Batchelder said we didn't have to treat him differently."

"Yeah, and sometimes he gets around better than we do. Like when it's really dark."

"Oh."

"Speaking of dark, you should see the view of the stars out here. We're so far from any cities, you can see all of 'em," Gazzy told her.

"Oh, I think Mr. Batchelder is taking us back before it gets dark," Maeve said.

"Maybe another time," he shrugged. But really, he was disappointed. He giggled to himself. "Mr. Batchelder."

"What's so funny?"

"He's just Jeb to us."

Gazzy didn't notice the regret on Jeb's face.

"Dani tells me you boys are looking for work," Jeb said as if on cue. Dani glared at him from the living room. What part of _try not to make it look like you're helping_ did he not get?

"Did she?" Iggy asked, not breaking his stride as he began pouring ingredients into the mixer.

"You know, education could get you a little farther than practicing beating each other up."

Dani sat up a bit straighter trying to gauge Iggy and Fang's reactions. That certainly wasn't what she and Jeb talked about. Dani knew the boys would never go for any kind of schooling.

"What kind of education? We're not going to become doctors or lawyers at this point," Iggy said. "We need to rely on the skills we have, which is our fighting ability. We were thinking we'd make good bouncers."

The rest of the flock watched with interest. Fang and Iggy asserting their independence would probably affect the whole flock.

"Well, yes, I agree that you should exploit your strong suit, but in a less brute force manner," Jeb said.

"How do you mean?" Fang asked.

"You did a great job training the new flock, Fang. I'm suggesting that you explore personal training. It's a booming business, very lucrative. And you're unlikely to get beaten up performing your job. You could even keep regular hours," Jeb explained.

"You seem to have given this a lot of thought," Iggy said skeptically.

"I knew there would come a time when you would grow up, move away from the flock. You two have families of your own. The others won't be too far behind."

The flock looked suspiciously at one another, as if accusing one another of mutiny.

Fang stood up defensively. "The flock is _not_ splitting up. Just because we want to be more independent, doesn't mean we're leaving. It's not _them_ we want independence from."

"Fang, calm down. There would be nothing wrong with you and Max or Iggy and Dani wanting some privacy. Kids grow up and leave home all the time. That's what people do," Jeb said. It only pissed Fang off more.

"No. We're not people, remember? We're freaks. We're more than a family. The flock is never splitting up. Never again." He got up from the table. "_You_ can leave anytime, though." Fang walked out the front door.

Slowly Jeb stood. "I think maybe it's time to leave kids," he said to Troy, Jane and Maeve.

"Can't they stay until the cookies are done?" Sunny asked. Judging by their faces, the flock agreed with Sunny.

"First batch will be ready in about fifteen," Iggy said.

Jeb sighed. "All right. Another half hour. But then I've got to get you kids home." He went to the back deck and stepped outside.

After Fang cooled off in the air a few minutes, he spotted Jeb on the deck. He landed and loomed over Jeb in one of the adirondack chairs.

"Don't ever do that again," Fang gritted between his teeth. "Don't ever try to make it look like Max and I want to leave the flock. You know they've been worried about that ever since Dylan . . ."

"Died?" Jeb finished. "Not saying it doesn't change it. And are you really planning on staying together your whole lives?"

"I told you, we're more than a family. We need to stick together."

"And what if Miranda has a baby? Or Max or Dani have another. Is Nudge's future husband going to live here too? Gazzy's future wife? Their kids? Do you think you can just keep finding bigger and bigger houses? It's not very practical." Jeb gave him a dose of reality.

"Frankly, I didn't think that far ahead," Fang said truthfully.

"Of course not. You're still a kid, really."

Fang furrowed his brows. "No, I assumed we wouldn't live that long actually."

By his expression, Jeb wasn't expecting that. "Oh."

"Unless you're telling me I am going to live long enough to see Dilly's kids."

There was an awkward silence as Jeb contemplated Fang's query.

"I didn't think so," Fang said.

Jeb sighed. "Don't mistake my silence for an answer, Fang. I . . . I honestly don't know."

Fang sat down on another of the adirondack chairs. "Then we live the way everybody else does. Like we don't know how long we have. But we do it together."

"My offer to help is genuine," Jeb said.

"I don't want to be some stupid personal trainer to the stars. Iggy and I will find our own way. Thanks anyway." It was a half-hearted thanks at best.

The glass door slid open. "The cookies are ready," Dani smiled. "Everything okay?"

"Yep," Fang answered and went inside.

"That wasn't very bright," Dani chastised Jeb. "You just can't help yourself, can you?"

Jeb shook his head. "I'm a pro at saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the right time," he deadpanned.

"What happened to helping subtly?"

"I don't do subtle," Jeb replied. "I don't have time for subtle."

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*** I don't have the next chapter written, just sketched out, so I don't know how long it will be before I post again. In the meantime, I appreciate your feedback and suggestions.**

**I am so enjoying writing this and you guys keep me going!**


	22. He said, She said

*** Hi everyone. I can't believe how long it's been since I posted for this story. My apologies! I hope I'm not losing too many of you. I got a bit sidetracked by Harry Potter :) But I still love Max and Fang! Speaking them, this chapter is mostly them, beginning with a continuation of meeting the new kids. Anyway, this chapter is really meant to be sort of comic relief, dealing with a serious issue. To Max and Fang, at least. This is the first time I've written from someone else's point of view besides Max or third person ****(like James Patterson) I hope it's not confusing.**

******Shayna-18: The reason I didn't have Max in the last chapter was so I could write it in third person pov. Max wouldn't have "heard" what the others were thinking to each other. I _try_ to keep Max's pov truly only what she would know or think. And the yoga crack was actually supposed to be a sarcastic remark. I guess it didn't come across that way. Of course, Max kicks total ass when she trains!**

******NightOwlGirl: good point and exactly what I was thinking about. My flock will always stay together :)**

******Thanks also to geekyreader1234 and Turtlelover0511 for also reviewing.**

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I made my way downstairs carrying Dilly, just in time to catch Jeb before he left. He had brought three kids with him, the ones who were supposed to get the flock up to speed for school. Brave kids.

"Leaving already?" I asked.

"Hello Max," Jeb said. "I have to get these three home. I didn't know when you were coming down. There's extra pizza for you."

Classic Jeb. He was going to leave without so much as a 'hello', yet he got me dinner.

"Thanks," I smiled. I noticed that Fang was scowling a little. I definitely missed something. I walked to introduce myself to the new kids. But before I had the chance, Total and Akila came barreling down the stairs, barking.

One of the kids, a girl, gasped and grabbed Gazzy to use him as a shield.

"Total, Akila, stop it! You're scaring her!" Gazzy yelled. "Are you afraid of dogs?" he asked the girl. She nodded. And she looked terrified.

Total stopped barking but Akila kept it up as she paced in front of the three kids.

"Total, make her stop!" I shouted.

He walked over and nuzzled her until she began to calm down. But then she was growling. Weird.

"She won't hurt you Maeve, I promise," Gazzy assured the girl. "I don't know what's wrong with her."

"She's beautiful," the boy said. He held out the back of his hand for Akila to sniff and spoke gently to her. Apparently, he was okay with dogs. Akila licked his hand and stopped growling.

"I'm sorry. She's very protective," Total told them.

The other girl, the one with glasses, practically jumped out of her skin.

"Did your dog just talk?"

Everyone laughed, except the girl who was still hiding behind Gazzy. We still got a kick out of seeing people get freaked out about Total.

"Dog?" Total huffed.

I rolled my eyes at him. "What would you prefer-canine-American?" I turned to the little blonde girl. "Akila's not usually like this. Ever since Dani and James got kidnapped, she's been wary of strangers. But she's never bitten anyone. Well, only bad guys. I'm Max, by the way. And this is Dilly," I said, holding Her Majesty up for them to see.

I started referring to her that way after one of the flock called her the Queen of Scream. She was acquiring many nicknames-Pickle, Dillweed, Silly, and Chicken-among the most used.

_By the way, Gazzy told these kids his name is Zephyr. Don't ask_

_Thanks for the heads up, Ange_, I thought

Akila and Total had finally settled down in the corner, but Akila still kept an eye on the kids.

The scowl on Fang's face disappeared as he came over to take Dilly from me.

"How's our little chicken?" he asked.

Her wings still looked kind of like chicken wings so Fang had taken to calling her that. I couldn't wait for the feathers to start coming in so he would stop,

Fang's face really took on a whole different appearance when he looked at Dilly. He kissed her little forehead and smiled at her, clearly forgetting whatever Jeb did to make him scowl. AT least I assumed Jeb did something to make Fang scowl-he always did.

I left them to go see Jeb and the other kids.

"Sorry about that. You okay?" I asked the short one with the eyes. They were incredible and her pupils were huge. She still looked sort of scared. Apparently, she had formed some sort of bond with Gazzy-oops, I mean Zephyr. I hoped I would remember to call him that.

"Dogs make me nervous," she replied as she realized Gazzy was clenching his teeth. She released the tight grip she had on his arm.

Gazzy exhaled. "Thanks. Your nails were digging in a little," he said sheepishly.

"I'm so sorry. I'm not usually such a scaredy-cat." She blushed.

"It's okay. Akila can be pretty fierce." I tried to make her feel like less of a wuss.

Total cleared his throat.

"Oh, yeah, Total too."

"You're Maeve? Is that what G-Zephyr called you?" I winked at Gazzy.

"Yes," she answered, much more relaxed. Her eyes weren't as wide or dilated and her stance more casual.

"This is Jane and Troy," Jeb told me. "I think this first meeting went well. They decided they want to do their tutoring sessions here rather than at the school, if it's not a problem." I shook my head. "Then I'll be dropping them off on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for a few hours."

"Okay by me," I said. "Hey, what happened between you and Fang?"

Jeb smiled at me. "You've always been very perceptive, Max." He glanced over at Fang with Dilly. "I'm sure he'll fill you in. But I was only trying to help."

"Oh great. I know how much Fang loves when you help."

Jeb and the kids took off (funny, how for them, that means in an SUV, and for us it's literally) and I sat down at the breakfast bar to eat my pizza.

"So, wha wa at aw abow?" I asked with my mouth full.

"Max, if you're going to speak, swallow your food first," Total chastised.

I swallowed. "So, what was that all about?" I enunciated each syllable annoyingly.

Total shrugged the best a dog could. "Something didn't smell right," he offered. "Plus, they were strangers."

"But clearly, they were invited. And what do you mean by didn't smell right? Like they hadn't bathed? Or like, they smelled like robots? Or too much cologne?"

"No, more like . . . maybe fur? Like one of them has a cat or other pet at home and the fur is all over their clothing. Akila checked the boy out. It wasn't him. We won't bark at them next time," Total assured me.

"Iggy? It smells like something yummy in here, but I don't see anything yummy," I complained.

"I made cookies, but everybody ate them as soon as they came out of the oven. Sorry, I should have saved you some."

I frowned. "Thanks guys," I muttered.

Fang walked over and put his arm around my waist. "Why don't we go somewhere to get you some dessert? It's been a while since we went anywhere, just you and me. I'm sure someone will watch Dilly." He kissed my neck and lowered his voice. "It's been a while since we stayed in, just you and me, too."

He was right. He'd been dropping hints like that for the past several weeks. The six week mark had come and gone with no fanfare, though I had the feeling he'd been counting down the days. By now we were almost to week eleven and the hints were coming more often.

"I'll just grab something at the grocery store if I really want something sweet. I actually just want to fly around, you know, stretch my wings for a little while."

I pretended not to see the disappointment in his face. "Spend some time with Dilly. I'll be back soon." I kissed him goodbye then took off. He probably knew where I was going. He probably always knew where I went when I flew without him.

I angled my wings and landed in the small clearing of the private cemetery. Darn, I forgot to pick flowers this time.

It had become a routine. Whenever I had something to get off my chest, I made a bee line for Dylan-well, his grave. Yes, I realized that I wasn't actually talking to him, that I was really talking to myself. But I felt less crazy talking to him.

Sighing heavily, I sat down in the soft grass. It was growing thick and light green. It seemed so unfair that life was springing up all around Dylan, yet he was untouched by it. Sometimes I couldn't bare the thought of him cold and alone, so far from us. I still wasn't sure what happened when people die, but if anyone deserved to be an angel, it was Dylan. And if there was any chance at all he would hear me, I would keep talking to him. Of course, it was always about me.

"Well, I did it again. I ran away, like I do whenever Fang even tries to get close. You know what I mean. I'm not saying it out loud."

I chuckled, "I did the same thing to you. Sorry about that." Okay, that wasn't what I wanted to talk about. I wasn't quite ready to deal with that guilt. Back to Fang.

"I'm afraid Fang's going to stop trying before I'm ready. He can be very patient, but . . . how long can he be rejected before he gives up? I'm afraid, no, terrified of getting pregnant again. I've joked about Dilly being an only child, but I wasn't kidding, not really. Dylan, it was the worst experience. I felt helpless, having someone take over my body for nine months. Longer, actually, she still dictates what we do a lot of the time."

"Don't get me wrong, I love her to death. But it's bad enough for me to be a bad parent to one kid. How could I, in good conscience, be a bad parent to two, or more? Just my luck, I get Jeb's parenting skills instead of my mom's. As great as Fang is, a great dad doesn't make up for a lousy mom. Besides, he wants to get a job, so he'll be gone a lot. Did I mention that? He's so great, he wants to take care of us, like a real family. Well, like a commune, more like," I laughed. "Or a cult."

"What should I do? I have to get past these anxiety attacks or I'm going to lose Fang altogether, won't I? I wish you could talk to me. Tell me I being paranoid or something. Tell me Fang will love me forever no matter what."

I sat for a few minutes looking at the headstone, feeling more alone than ever. I needed to talk to someone who could talk back and have something useful to say. This working out my problems on my own wasn't cutting it this time. I'll never admit to the flock I said that, though.

I decided to talk to the only other person that could possibly know what I'm feeling. Dani. As embarrassing as it was going to be, it was better than talking to my mom.

_MRMRMRMRMRMRMRMRMR_

**_*Fang's POV_**

I found Iggy alone in his and Dani's room.

"Hey, Ig?"

Iggy turned his head toward me, "Yeah?"

"Never mind," I said, losing my nerve. I walked back out.

I came back and stood in the doorway, watching Iggy fold James' laundry. "Um, can I ask you something?"

Iggy turned toward me again. "Shoot," he smiled.

I stood for a moment, chickened out again and left the room. I heard Iggy sigh and go back to work. I stood in the doorway again, still deciding if I really wanted to humiliate myself or not.

"Will you just come in and spit it out already?" Iggy said to me. "Whatever it is, it can't be that bad." I walked in and shut the door behind me.

"I have kind of a problem. An embarrassing problem. More like a question. No, it's a problem, I guess."

Iggy looked like he was ready to tear his hair out. "What is it? I promise I won't laugh-too hard." Iggy joked.

"So," I swallowed. It felt like cotton in my mouth. I was glad Iggy couldn't see me, for once. "Max had Dilly, like, almost three months ago."

"Yeah? And?" Iggy _seemed_ to be really trying to be patient but I think he was getting annoyed.

"Well, she should be okay by now, right? I mean, you know, all healed or whatever." I stammered. God, this was excruciating!

"Is she not feeling well?" Iggy asked. Was he playing dumb or was he actually dumb?

"She's fine," I hesitated. "She just . . . doesn't want . . . oh, forget it!" I sighed and started to leave.

"Wait," Iggy stopped me, obviously trying to keep from laughing at me.

"You said you wouldn't laugh."

"Too hard," Iggy corrected me.

"You suck. You knew exactly what I was trying to say." I complained.

"It was fun hearing you squirm." Iggy composed himself and continued. "Okay, so what's your problem? Max doesn't want to have sex?"

Now I was _really_ glad Iggy couldn't see me. I could feel my face get hot.

"I'll take your silence as a 'yes'," the sadistic jerk chuckled. "Been there. Dani avoided me like the plague after James was born. Even after I moved in here with her."

"So what did you do?"

"Spent a lot of time in the bathroom." When I remained silent he added, "Just kidding. Seriously."

"Then, what did you do?" I repeated. I was irritated to have to ask once, but to have to ask twice was unbearable.

"Did you talk to Max?" Iggy asked me. "Dani told me what she was worried about and how she felt. Mainly, she was afraid to get pregnant again. But there were other reasons."

"Max isn't as, um, forthcoming about feelings and stuff," I reminded him. "She'd rather fly off and fight Erasers. In fact, flying off is what she always does when I try to talk to her."

"My advice is to give her space. I know, it sucks for you, but you can't push it. She'll end up never wanting to, if you push it."

Really?

"But she'll barely even let me hug her. And kiss her-forget it. She sleeps all scrunched up on the other side of the bed. I'd be happy just to cuddle at this point." _God, did I just use the word cuddle? _

"Try romancing her a little. All girls, even Max, like that kind of crap. A private dinner, candlelight, maybe some music. I could make you guys something to have in your room," Iggy offered.

Remembering our mini honeymoon, I thought maybe that could work.

"I can hear the wheels turning in your head, Fang. Remember what I said about patience. It's about getting her to _talk_ to you, not -"

"I know," I interrupted. I didn't need a lecture.

"So, you'll need to start talking first, make her comfortable."

"How do you know all this stuff?" I asked him.

Iggy laughed. "Like I said, Dani talks. She's not afraid to say what's on her mind. She told me exactly what to do," Iggy said sheepishly. "Actually, it makes things a lot easier."

"Great," I sighed. "This is going to be impossible."

Then Iggy mad an off-hand comment that made me reconsider the whole thing.

"Nah, the hard part is getting past the nursing thing. You know, having to share," Iggy snickered, getting up to put James' clothes away.

Now that was an image I didn't need in my head.

"It'll all work out, man. Don't worry." Iggy went about business as usual. "How about I make you guys a nice pork roast with some couscous and mushroom sauce? Maybe something chocolate for dessert? Hold the milk," he cracked up.

"Huh?" I was still thinking about the 'sharing' comment.

"Does that sound good?" he asked. "Tomorrow night?" He gave me a light punch on my shoulder.

"Yeah, okay," I answered. _Hold the milk?_ I wasn't so sure anymore.

**_*Max's POV_**

The next morning, I saw Dani sitting on the back deck alone. Finally, a chance to talk. I almost hated to intrude as she drank her coffee, but I needed to talk and I hadn't been able to get her alone since I left the cemetery.

"Hey Dani," I said as I walked out carrying Dilly. "Are we disturbing you?"

She smiled brightly, "No, of course not. I'm glad you want to hang out with me." She looked away briefly.

I sat down in one of the adirondack chairs next to her. "Dani, you don't think I still hold a grudge about Dr. G-H, do you?"

"Well, by the way you just said that, I guess not."

"Seriously, we've all moved past that. We're family and, I mean, we're friends, right?" I asked.

"Yes," Dani smiled.

"Good. Because I really need a friend to talk to."

I looked out at the scenery. "I used to talk to Dylan out here, when it was warm. We'd have coffee and watch the sun rise."

"Fang didn't mind? He seems like the jealous type," Dani pointed out.

"Well, maybe he didn't know exactly how often we did that. Fang was never an early riser. But there was nothing to be jealous of anyway. Dylan and I could give and take advice from each other without getting defensive. Sometimes, most of the time, Fang and I are like . . . "

"Fireworks?"

"Precisely. Besides, I don't know how to talk to him about this."

"Oooh, what is it?" Dani scooched her chair closer.

"Um, I need some advice," I admitted.

"What about? The baby?" She stroked Dilly's hair. "She's so beautiful. I love her hair. It's like yours. It's so cool that her skin is so pale and her eyes are almost black. She's like the polar opposite of James," she noted.

"I can always use baby tips, but I need help with Fang." I wasn't sure I wanted to continue.

Dani waited patiently as I decided whether or not to finish the thought. Eventually, her patience wore out.

"Let me guess, he's been trying to get close and you want nothing to do with him." She cut to the chase. "Same thing happened to us."

I was uncomfortable, but I had to keep going, "I don't want nothing to do with him. But I guess I have been keeping him at a distance. What happened with you and Iggy? What did you do?"

"We started drifting apart. Everything became about James. I was always tired and really, the last thing I wanted was another baby. So I made excuses and avoided the whole situation. Then it was awkward. Finally, I told him how I was feeling. And he told me how he was feeling. He made us a nice romantic dinner the next night and I gave in and we-"

"TMI!" I yelled.

"I wasn't going to give you details. I was just going to say that it all worked out. Obviously, we're still together."

"Wait, you gave in? You mean, you didn't really want to, but you did anyway?" What kind of example was she trying to set?

"I was afraid he'd lose interest and give up," Dani said. "You know guys, if they're not reassured constantly, they think you don't care."

Really? I wondered if that was why Fang bugged me all the time for me to tell him how I felt. About him. I always laughed it off.

"Max? Are you okay?" Dani asked.

"I don't want to lose Fang," I frowned.

"You won't. I'm making it sound worse than it is. You guys are solid." She started backpedaling. But it was too late. I was now more anxious about _not_ doing it than I was about doing it. I was beginning to think Dani _was_ the example to follow.

**_*Fang's POV_**

Iggy offered to make something special for me and Max for dinner that night so we could be alone. I decided to follow his plan. But I couldn't get Iggy's 'milk' comment out of my head. Watching Max with Dilly the rest of the day didn't help either. The love she had for the baby was written softly all over her face. It was pure and innocent, almost reverent. Which is something Max never is. Suddenly, I was seeing Max in a whole new light. She was somebody's mom.

I finally understood her hesitation. How was she supposed to act like a mom one minute, then be with me? I decided Iggy was right. She needed time. I was going to be a perfect gentleman at dinner.

Miranda had offered to take care of Dilly for the night and I set up our room with candles and pillows. When I told Max about our date night, she seemed happy. She really needed a break from baby duty. Around seven o'clock, Dani brought our dinner up to us. I would have gotten it myself but she insisted. I think she just wanted to see what the room looked like.

**_*Max's POV_**

"Tell Iggy thanks for us," I told Dani. "It smells delicious."

"He was more than happy to do it." She gave me a wink. I guessed Iggy knew what was going on, too.

Great.

When she left, Fang and I just looked at each other for a moment. It had been a long time since we were truly alone for any length of time. He had a funny look on his face.

"We should eat before it gets cold," he suggested.

It was as delicious as it smelled. I was pretty sure it was pork. But I wasn't sure because I practically swallowed without chewing. Something about the way Fang looked by candle light made me forget all about being anxious. I wanted to get through dinner quickly, so I could feel his arms around me. By the way he had the room all set up, he must have had the same thing on his mind.

Or so I thought. He took his time eating, still watching me kind of goofily.

"You know, Max, you're doing a really good job with Dilly. I know you didn't think you'd be good at it, but you're a natural," he said. We had a free night, the last thing I wanted to talk about was the baby.

"Thanks. You too." Then I changed the subject. "Working out must be going well. Your arms look more defined."

He glanced down at his arms and shrugged. "I guess so. Iggy and I have been training pretty hard."

Was that Fang being modest? He knew I loved his arms. That was why he always wore short sleeved shirts-even in winter. And any excuse to flex his muscles would do. Just to drive me crazy. But instead, he steered the conversation back to the baby.

"I gotta stay in shape to keep up with Dilly. She's getting big," he joked. "Dani told me we can start giving her food soon. I'll be able to feed her so you can get more breaks."

"We're supposed to be having a break now," I said, slightly annoyed. "It's kind of hard if you keep talking about her."

"Oh." He sounded disappointed. "Sorry."

"It's not that I don't want to talk about Dilly. But we always do. I want to talk about things we never have a chance to."

"Like?"

"I don't know. Anything." I shrugged. "Read any good books lately?" I laughed.

He laughed too. "Just Parents magazine."

We were quiet for a moment as I watched him eat the last couple bites of food. He picked up his glass and finished his water, tipping his head back to get all of it. His neck was fully exposed, Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed. I had an urge to lean forward and kiss his neck. He seemed completely unaware of his affect on me. Before I had a chance to act, the moment was gone and he was suggesting dessert.

**_*Fang's POV_**

I put my glass down and noticed Max watching me. For a second I thought I saw a look in her eye . . . but I couldn't think about that. I had to think about something else.

"Do you want dessert?" I held up the mousse Iggy made in between us. Max looked a little startled.

"Uh, okay," she answered.

There was only one spoon in the dish so I offered for her to try it first. She dipped the spoon into the fluffy chocolate pudding and brought it to her mouth. Her lips scraped the creamy dessert off the spoon, then her tongue came out to lick it clean. She moaned that it was soooo gooood. I swear, she was doing it on purpose -to drive me crazy. I realized I was subconsciously licking my own lips. I had to think of something else. The least sensual thing I could think of-Jeb.

Yikes! Talk about a mood killer. But, whatever, it worked.

"You have to try this," Max urged. I reached out to take the spoon, but instead, she dipped it into the mousse again and leaned forward, bringing the spoon to my mouth. As she did, her shirt gaped open a bit, giving me a clear shot down the front. I wasn't sure how much of this I was supposed to take. Again, I found myself in need of a mental cold shower. I pictured Max with the baby, the innocent scene I saw earlier.

Whoa, that did it.

"Fang? Aren't you going to try it?" she asked, looking up at me hopefully.

I took the spoon from her and shoved it in my mouth, trying not to look down her shirt.

_Stop looking_, I told myself. _It's for Dilly_

Max sat back with a puzzled look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said, looking anywhere but at her. I pushed the plate back to Max. "You can finish it. How about if I run a bath for you? You haven't had time for that in a long time."

I didn't wait for her to answer. I got up and walked into the bathroom, leaving her to eat the decadent chocolate dessert by herself. As the tub was filling, I placed a towel and a washcloth on the edge. The scent of green apples filled the room after I poured some bubble bath under the running water. I loved when Max smelled like that.

When the tub was filled and everything was ready for Max, I turned to leave. The door opened and Max stepped in, closing the door behind her. I stiffened. She was blocking my way out.

"Um, your bath is ready," I stammered.

"Thank you. This is nice," she smiled. "I should have brought some candles in. That would be relaxing."

"I'll get some," I offered, hurrying past her and out the door. I grabbed a fat candle with three wicks and brought it back into the bathroom.

I stopped dead in my tracks. Max had stripped down to her bra and panties-that fast. She was already back to her pre-baby state of fitness from working out lately. The only thing that hadn't shrunk back was her-she caught me looking again.

Crap

I repeated my mantra from earlier-_It's for Dilly, It's for Dilly_

I had to get myself out of there fast.

"Yell if you need anything," I said and quickly exited the steamy, candle lit room.

I heard Max begin to say, "Maybe you could-" before the door shut. I felt bad leaving like that, but I didn't trust myself.

**_*Max's POV_**

"-wash my back," I finished after the door closed.

_What the heck?_

He spends the past month dropping not-so-subtle hints that he's eager to get back to, um, night time activities. (this is me blushing) Then he practically runs away when I'm finally ready.

Maybe I was too subtle. Extremely low cut shirt? Check. Spoon feeding him chocolate? Check. Standing before him half dressed in a hot and steamy, candle it room? Check. No, definitely not too subtle. Not even for Fang.

I stepped into the tub, letting the scent of the bubbles and the soft light from the candles relax me. The whole night was heaven, just to get a break. But it was supposed to be me and Fang and I was spending most of it alone. Maybe he was losing interest after all. I decided to redouble my efforts after my bath.

I lasted about fifteen minutes in the tub. Sitting around doing nothing isn't really something I'm good at. My thoughts kept wandering to Fang. I wondered what he was doing while I was in the bathroom.

I dried off and dressed in a t-shirt and p.j. bottoms, feeling and smelling clean. I felt confident that Fang would notice. I brought the big candle back into the bedroom with me, only to find Fang, sitting on the bed reading a magazine in his boxers. The candles were blown out, the overhead light on, and the pillows back in place on the bed.

"What happened to the room?" I asked.

He looked up. "You're finished already? I thought you'd be in there at least an hour. I figured we'd be going to sleep when you came out, so I cleaned up. Are you ready for bed? I'm gonna go brush my teeth."

Again, he left me alone. I was more than a little disappointed. I put the candle on the dresser and flipped off the light switch. I was going have to step it up even more. I found a piece of lingerie that I had brought on our honeymoon trip. Of course, it was a lot tighter across the chest than before. If that didn't work, I was going to have to crawl under a rock and die.

Fang came back into the room and stopped short. The same way he did in the bathroom. His mouth dropped open. I have to admit, I got a lot of satisfaction out of that.

"Uh, you, you changed?" he stuttered. His eyes roved up and down. He blinked and seemed to shake his head.

_What is he doing?_

**_*Fang's POV_**

_What is she doing?_

She was killing me. The sight of her in her little nightie sent me over the edge. Even more than in the bathroom. Immediately, I had visions of our honeymoon and not even thoughts of Jeb and Dilly could chase them away. I even tried literally shaking them out of my head. Max must have thought I was nuts. In a way, I was. I just stood there like an idiot, gaping.

She walked, more like sashayed, over to the bed and climbed in between the sheets. I stood my ground while she patted the bed on my spot.

"Are you coming?" she smiled. "To bed, I mean."

An unfortunate choice of words. I was hoping she couldn't see the very physical affect she was having on me from all the way across the room. Thankfully, the light was dim.

"Okay." My voice cracked like a kid in the middle of puberty.

I blew out the candle.

_Just get in bed, say a quick good night, and stay as far on your side of the bed as you can_, I told myself.

I did just that and turned my back to Max. She sighed loudly in the dark. We lay in silence for a while. It seemed like forever waiting for her to fall asleep, my eyes wide open for lack of being tired. I looked at the clock. Nine thirty-seven. Seriously?

On the other side of the bed, Max rolled over. I thought again of her standing by the bed, the fabric of her skimpy night dress stretched tightly across-

I leaped out of bed when I felt Max's hand reach around and touch my stomach.

"What is wrong with you?" she yelled at me.

"Me? What's wrong with you? You said you wanted space. You said you needed time. And you keep doing and saying things that are driving me crazy!" I yelled back.

"Well, I thought you would want me to. You've been bugging me for the past month," she shot back.

"Well, I thought it would be weird for you, to have me- I mean, you're still nursing." I was embarrassed to think it much less say it. "Iggy said-"

"Iggy? You talked to Iggy about us?"

"I didn't know what to do. He said you were probably uncomfortable with . . ."

Max immediately covered her ears. She didn't need to, 'cause I wasn't going to finish that sentence anyway.

I took her hands down. "I was trying not to pressure you. Besides, after talking to Iggy, I was a little weirded out myself," I confessed.

"So, you haven't lost interest?"

_Did she really just ask me that? How on Earth could she think that?_

"Dani said that if I didn't give in, you'd lose interest and it would get harder to get back to us."

"Dani? You took advice from someone with even less real life experience than us?" I laughed.

"Well, they've been through this. Shouldn't they have had good advice?" she asked.

She had a point. "Sure. If they hadn't given us completely _opposite_ advice."

We sat on the edge of the bed, each of us feeling confused and awkward. Well, at least I was.

"Max, you don't have to try so hard. I'm not going to lose interest. I'm _never_ going to lose interest. I only want to be close to you, it doesn't have to be anything more." I took her hand in mine. "I love you. And I love Dilly. You guys are my life."

She smiled up at me. This wasn't exactly the night I originally envisioned when I first talked to Iggy, but her smile was worth it all.

"So, can I change back into my comfy p.j.s? This thing is so tight." Max tugged at the fabric of her nightie.

"Please," I said. "Unless you're still trying to drive me crazy."

"With this little thing?" She ran her hands down the sides of her body. Boy, she was evil.

She quickly changed and got back in bed. Snuggling into my arms, she sighed, this time contentedly.

"Love you," she whispered.

I kissed the top of her head. "Love you too. Good night, Max."

My turn to sigh. I guess we both got what we really wanted that night after all.

* * *

***Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it :)**


	23. don't know much about history

*** I apologize profusely for letting this story slide. There aren't many of you that read it, but you're all important to me. I know, pretty sappy. Anyway, this may not be what you were hoping for after the last chapter, and it's not my favorite either. But, it moves the story along. I was having some serious writer's block, too. Don't you hate when you know where you're starting and where you want to end up, but can't figure out what to do in between? So thanks for the messages telling me to update. It's been so long, though, you may want to go back to chapter 21 to refresh your memory.**

* * *

"Guys, they're here!" Miranda yelled. She opened the door for Maeve, Jane, Troy and Jeb. Total and Akila immediately started barking.

"Total, are we going to go through this every time they come?" Gazzy asked. "You know they're invited. Go to your room."

Total harrumphed. "I will not be dismissed. What's the point of having guards if we're not allowed to bark-I mean, warn you."

"But these are friends," Gazzy reminded him.

"Fine. Come on Akila, we're not wanted." Total nudged a still growling Akila. He led her upstairs and pushed the door closed with his nose.

"You don't have to lock them up because of us," Jane said.

Maeve glared at her.

Angel and Sunny came bounding down the hallway. "Hi Jane. Come back to our room." Sunny grabbed Jane's wrist and the three of them hurried back down the hall.

"That was weird," Gazzy commented. "Since when are Angel and Sunny into tutoring?"

Miranda shrugged. "I guess they decided to give it a chance."

"Yeah, right," John chimed in.

"Where's Nudge?" Troy asked.

"I think she's still fixing herself up." John got a poke in the ribs from Miranda for the comment.

"Why don't you sit for a minute. I'm sure she'll be out soon," Miranda suggested. "Do you want a snack?"

"Yes," Gazzy and John both said.

"I wasn't talking to you two," Miranda rolled her eyes.

Troy looked over at the boys. "Actually, a snack sounds good, thanks." He wasn't really hungry, but he figured he could get on their good side by helping them out.

Miranda went to the fridge while the younger kids went to the Great room to study.

"I brought some reading materials and a math pretest. Just to see what we need to work on," Maeve told them.

"A test? Already? I stink at math," Gazzy complained.

"What about you, John?"

"I did a little math at the . . . where I used to be. They made us learn some stuff. I'm sure it's nowhere near what normal seventh graders do, though." He always said the word normal with such disdain.

"Let's find out." Maeve gave each of them a sheet with twenty-five problems ranging from simple addition and subtraction to lengthy word problems involving probability and percentages. "Just do what you can. Don't worry if it's not a lot," she smiled.

John and Gazzy got to work while Maeve joined Miranda and Troy in the kitchen. Miranda was cutting up chunks of cheese and summer sausage, and opened a large bag of chips into a bowl.

"Do you want something to drink?" Miranda asked them. "Water, apple juice, Coke, root beer or iced tea?"

"Tea please," Maeve said.

"Sounds good," Troy agreed.

After about fifteen minutes of snacking and light conversation, John walked over with his paper. "I couldn't figure out the last four. And I'm pretty sure I got the two word problems I tried, wrong." John sat down next to Troy and grabbed a handful of chips.

"Wow, that's more than I thought you'd get," Maeve told him. She looked over at Gazzy who appeared mighty frustrated.

"Zephyr, don't kill yourself over it. If you can't do any more, don't worry about it. I'll teach you."

Gazzy didn't even realize she was talking to him. He had forgotten he told her his name was Zephyr.

"Huh?" He glanced up. "Hold on. I'm so close to getting this one."

"Take your time."

Finally, Nudge emerged from her room. Gazzy saw her and did a double take. She had put her hair up, with ringlet curls surrounding her face. And she was wearing make-up.

_She's wearing make-up for him_, Gazzy thought to himself.

"Sorry I took so long," Nudge apologized. "My hair didn't want to cooperate."

"It looks really pretty," Maeve said. "I wish I had curly hair like that."

Gazzy walked up to the group with his paper. "I give up." He popped a couple pieces of cheese in his mouth. "I hate being stupid."

Nudge ignored him and continued her conversation with Maeve. "What are you talking about? Your hair is gorgeous. So thick and full." Nudge reached out and touched Maeve's hair. She was right, everyone did always want to touch it. It was so much softer than it looked. "It's so silky, too."

It was obvious that the others' curiosity was piqued, but no one else asked to touch it.

"You're not stupid," Maeve said. "You just haven't had a chance to learn the way most of us have."

Gazzy liked the way Maeve didn't ignore him, the way Nudge did. She made him feel important. At least a little bit, anyway. He still felt stupid for only answering ten questions.

Maeve took a quick peek at Gazzy's paper. "We'll catch you up the best we can. You'll have to memorize the times tables."

Troy stared at Nudge. "What'd you do to yourself?" She looked so different than the first time he saw her. And he thought she looked older than fifteen then. "Uh, you ready to get started, Nudge?"

"Yep," she smiled.

Gazzy watched as Troy and Nudged walked to the back deck so she could do a math pretest as well.

_Snap out of it. You look like you're mooning over Nudge,_ John thought to Gazzy. _I thought you liked Maeve_.

_Am not. Shut up_.

_You __**do**__ like Nudge, don't you?_

"Shut up," Gazzy said out loud.

Maeve looked at the boys uncomfortably. "Are you having a private conversation?"

"I'm sorry," Gazzy said. "Jeb told you not to do that, John."

John made a face at Gazzy.

_Watch it or I'll tell her your real name._

_ You better not or I'll-_

"Boys?" Maeve questioned.

"Sorry," they said together.

Maeve sighed. "So, it looks like addition and subtraction is easy enough for you both. John, you're a bit ahead, though. Maybe you can work with Troy and Nudge on math until I catch Zephyr up."

John shrugged, "Okay."

She addressed Gazzy again. "We'll work on measurements, percentages and fractions."

"Why do I have to know all that stuff? I mean, Max made us learn stuff that we never even think about."

"You need to know so you can figure out how much tax is on things you buy, or how much of a tip to leave at a restaurant. And you need to know liquid and dry measurements for cooking. Isn't Iggy teaching you how to cook?" Maeve answered.

"Oh," Gazzy said. "I guess you're right. I just didn't see why I needed to know what time two trains would meet if they left from different stations and all that crap. I didn't get that problem at all."

Maeve laughed. "We'll do math later, then. So, how about reading? Do you like to read?"

"I like to read car and science magazines," Gazzy offered.

"Why don't you go get one and we'll read it," Maeve suggested.

When Gazzy left, she asked John what he liked to read.

He wasn't forthcoming with an answer.

"Can you read?" Maeve asked.

"Of course I can read," he said. "I read those stupid math problems, didn't I?"

"Sorry," she said. 'Why won't you tell me what you like to read?"

"You'll laugh."

"I won't. I promise."

"You can't promise that," he said. "You'll laugh."

"If I laugh, I'll bring you some candy next time I come," she offered.

"Make it a half gallon of espresso chip ice cream instead?"

"Deal. Now quick, before Zephyr comes back."

John hesitated. "Little House on the Prairie."

Maeve stared at him for a moment. She pressed her lips together as hard as she could to keep from giggling. It was futile, though, and the giggle got out."

"See! I told you you would laugh," John pouted.

"I'm so sorry. But at least you're going to get some ice cream out of it. But why that book-"

"What's so funny?" Gazzy asked when he came back.

"Oh, nothin'," Maeve answered. She took the Popular Science Magazine and leafed through it. "You can read these words? I'm not sure what some of them are."

"Well, maybe not all of 'em. I used to read them to Iggy. Before Dani." He rolled his eyes. "Max and Fang would help me read the harder words."

"Wow," Maeve said. "I don't think you need tutoring in reading."

Gazzy sat up a little straighter. He never felt particularly smart before. Except perhaps when he was making some sort of incendiary device.

"Hmm. I don't suppose that you'd need any tutoring in science either," Maeve said. "How are you at geography and history?"

"Geography is like, where places are, right?"

Maeve nodded.

"We can find almost anywhere. We practically have built in GPS." Gazzy looked at John. "I think we're good there, don't you think?" John agreed.

"I don't know about Ga-um, Zephyr, but I didn't learn much history," John told Maeve.

Gazzy shrugged. "Nope."

Maeve made some notes and they worked out their schedule. Gazzy was secretly glad that John didn't need math tutoring so he could get to know Maeve on his own.

"Okay, I think we've got a good schedule worked out," Maeve said. "Let's take a break."

"Good, 'cause I'm hungry again," John said. He walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"Hold it right there," Iggy said. "Don't eat again. I'm about to start dinner."

"What? How did you know I was getting a snack?"

Iggy 'looked' at him with unseeing eyes. "Seriously? You weren't even quiet about it."

Gazzy asked, "Can Maeve, Troy and Jane eat over?"

"It's fine by me, but I think Jeb is supposed to pick them up soon," Iggy told him.

"What are you making?" Gazzy asked.

"Burgers and fries, my man."

"Yum. Wait, do we have lettuce?"

"Of course," Iggy said. "Do you think I'd forget that?"

Gazzy thought about what they could do while they waited for dinner. He hoped Jeb wouldn't pick them up too soon. All they did was talk about school stuff.

"Hey, let's take a walk," Gazzy suggested. "We can show you around the place. We have a small garden. Dani and Miranda planted it. Do you like strawberries? Maybe there are some ready for picking. We're growing other things if you don't like strawberries." He couldn't stop himself from rambling on.

"Ooh, can you see if there are some tomatoes?" Iggy asked. "I keep forgetting we have a garden."

"That sounds great," Maeve said. "I love strawberries."

Gazzy grabbed a couple of large bowls for the fruit. "You coming John?"

"Nah." Picking fruit wasn't his idea of fun.

Gazzy led Maeve through the yard to the garden. As they walked, Gazzy told Maeve about some of the flock's special skills. He enjoyed talking about it and she seemed very interested. He tried to impress her with his hearing and eyesight. That fascinated people almost as much as the wings.

"We can see like hawks. Like, I can see how many windows are in that house waaaay over there." He pointed to a cabin off in the distance. Almost too far for an all human to make out.

"Wow," Maeve said, impressed.

"And I can see a mouse or something down by those mushrooms over there." He pointed again, somewhere off in the woods.

"A shrew."

"What?"

"So you can hear really well, too?" Maeve changed the subject.

"Uh, yeah. Not as well as we see, but still pretty good. Of course, Iggy hears better than the rest of us. Did you know our bones are hollow, like birds?"

"Really? I didn't know birds had hollow bones."

"Yeah, I weigh like two thirds what you'd think," he told her.

"Hey, look at that. You're using fractions already," Maeve laughed.

They heard a bark not far away and turned to see Akila bounding toward them.

"Akila, no! Bad dog!" Gazzy stepped out in front of Maeve. He wasn't really worried that Akila would hurt her, but he knew Maeve was afraid of dogs.

Akila skidded to a stop.

"I swear, she won't bite you," Gazzy said as he turned to Maeve, but she was gone. "Maeve?"

"Make her go away," Maeve pleaded.

Gazzy looked up to find her in a tree, her pupils were huge and she looked scared to death. Gazzy wasn't sure if it was imagination or not, but her hair looked sort of fluffed up, too.

"How'd you get up there so fast?"

Akila was still barking, but wagging her tail, quite pleased with herself for having chased Maeve up the tree.

"Go back to the house, Akila. Go on!" Gazzy pushed the dog toward the house, and she reluctantly trotted back home. "It's okay, you can come down now. Can you get down? Should I get help? It looks awfully high."

"No, I can manage." She hesitated, then leapt off the branch, landing, gracefully on her hands and feet.

Gazzy subconsciously took a step backward.

"What's going on?" he asked. "People can't just jump out of trees like that. Not normal people anyway."

Maeve looked around, avoiding eye contact, deciding what to say.

"You saw that mouse, didn't you?"

"Shrew."

"What the heck is a shrew?"

"It's like a mouse, with a pointy nose," Maeve said. "Yes, I saw it."

"You're a hybrid, aren't you?"

"Yes." Maeve looked down at her feet. "I have a combination of lion and house cat in me. I'm about as much cat as you are bird. Maybe a little less. My sister is too, but she has more cat-like features."

"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked. "Because you're a cat and we're birds? You don't want to eat us, do you?"

Maeve laughed. "No. I don't want to eat you. But I think your dog wants to eat me."

"Nah, Akila was just playing. Her tail was wagging. But seriously, you don't have to hide it. Lions are pretty cool," Gazzy said.

"My sister and I never knew about anyone like us. Not like you guys. You always knew what you were. We didn't realize we were different until we started going to public school a few years ago. Up til then we were home schooled."

"Yeah, but at least you have parents."

"Who didn't tell us what they let some scientists do to us," Maeve said.

"Good point," Gazzy agreed.

"I'm sorry. I feel bad that I lied. You guys have been so nice to us and answered a million stupid questions . . ."

Gazzy bit his lip. "Um, I haven't exactly been totally honest either."

She raised her eyebrows.

"My name's not Zephyr."

Her brow furrowed. "Then why did you say it was? Did you all give us fake names? Is that why they're all strange? Except John."

"No, just me. Everyone else gave their real names."

"Well?" Maeve asked. "What is it?"

"You have to promise not to laugh."

"Oh, no, I already went back on one of those promises tonight. Just tell me. If I laugh, I'll apologize," she told him.

Gazzy was silent for longer than he meant to be.

"The Gasman."

"What?"

"Gasman. But mostly they call me Gazzy. You really don't have to ask why. It's self explanatory," he said, embarrassed.

Maeve smiled. "You're still pulling my leg."

Gazzy looked down at the ground.

"You're not kidding?" she asked.

"I have a disease called celiac. I can't eat wheat or food made from wheat, or I get, um . . . "

"Gassy?" Maeve finished for him.

"In my case, that's putting it mildly," he blushed. He couldn't believe he was actually telling her all this. He had been trying to impress her, but now he was waiting for her to run away screaming. "I was having attention problems too. But I'm getting better," he added hopefully.

"So, you can't eat stuff like pizza? That's why you got a salad." The little light bulb went on over her head.

"I get steak a lot when they get sandwiches or pizza."

"I _love_ steak. Super rare," she grinned. "I could eat it raw, too."

Gazzy raised his eyebrows. "Part of the lion thing?"

"I suppose."

"No one will think badly of you, you know," Gazzy prodded her to tell once more.

"I'm just not ready yet. Is that okay? Will you keep my secret a while?"

"I won't say anything." Gazzy had to admit, he liked that they would have a secret between them. Usually, the older kids had their private jokes and code words. "We ought to pick some strawberries and tomatoes, so we can get back before Jeb comes."

They took their bowls to the strawberry patch and began picking. It was still early in the season, so they weren't able to fill the bowls. But there were four nice, round tomatoes that would be perfect for the burgers.

"You know, there was a boy in one of my classes back in New York. His name was Greg, but a lot of people called him G," Maeve mentioned. "You could go by G."

Gazzy thought about that. "G. That might not be so bad. It would be easier for the flock to remember than Zephyr," he laughed. "Actually, most of the time they were calling me GaZephyr."

Maeve laughed. "I thought I heard that a couple of times."

"Thanks for the idea," Gazzy smiled. He looked over at Maeve as she stood and wiped her hands on her pants. The sun was beginning to set and when the soft sunlight hit her strawberry blonde hair, it almost glowed. Gazzy thought if he believed in angels, they'd look just like that.

"Oooh, do you smell that?" she asked. "Iggy must be cooking on the grill. I'm really hungry all of a sudden."

"Yeah, it smells great. Race you back!" Gazzy started running as he said it so he had a huge head start. Maeve passed him, though. She was fast.

Not one to be outdone, Gazzy spread his wings and flew over the house to land on the deck out back.

Maeve ran through the front door, and through the Great room to find Gazzy on the deck, trying to look casual, standing next to Fang at the grill.

"You _cheater_," Maeve chided. But she was only teasing. It was the only way he'd win. In a foot race, she'd be able to beat Gazzy every time.

But she thought maybe she'd let him win once in a while.


	24. jump ship

*** I can't thank you all enough for sticking with me! This isn't exactly a feel good chapter. But it's been a while since there's been some angst in the story. lol And I just wanted to get Roger back in (hee hee) He's so awesomely socially awkward. **

**I promise, even if my updates are a little slow, to keep up with this story to the end.**

* * *

Jump tried to sneak into his room. But with twelve other people living in the same house, someone was bound to see him. No less than six noticed him as he made a bee line from the front door to his bedroom.

"Where have you been?" Miranda questioned. She asked it rather innocently, but that wasn't how Jump heard it.

"None of your business," he snapped and he ducked inside his room.

Miranda had begun to follow, but when he slammed the door, she stopped in her tracks. Not one to shy away, Miranda walked in without knocking.

"Hey! How about a little privacy?" he barked.

"What's wrong?" she asked. She put her hand on his arm. She was finding it extremely difficult to keep her cool.

Jump jerked his arm away. "Nothing." He felt bad about the way he was talking to her, but his mood made it hard to control himself.

In a stance she adopted from Dani, Miranda put her hands on her hips and leaned on one leg.

"Don't say_ nothing_. Obviously, something's wrong. Where have you been all day?"

Jump took in a deep silent breath. "At Pierpont Academy. I've been . . . thinking about going."

"What? You want to go to school? Since when?"

"I've been thinking about it for a while," he lied. "I've been thinking about a lot of things lately."

Miranda's arms dropped to her sides. "Such as?"

"Such as . . . us." He looked away. He wouldn't be able to say what he needed to say if he looked at her. "We've been meeting new people, you know, like the tutors, and if I go to the Academy, I'll meet more."

Miranda had a bad feeling about where the conversation was going, so she played dumb. "Yeah, so?"

"So we shouldn't tie ourselves down before we see what's out there. Dr. Gates and Dr. Martinez want us to interact with the other kids. It's been good for Gazzy and Nudge. I think they really like their tutors."

Not knowing whether to cry or get angry, Miranda plopped down on Jump's bed. "Are you breaking up with me?" she asked quietly.

When Jump didn't respond, she repeated the question.

He pursed his lips to keep from his chin from trembling. "Yes," he tried to say, but barely a voice came out. He cleared his throat. "Yes."

"But why? Just because we meet new people doesn't mean we can't stay together."

"You might meet someone you really like and want to get to know better. Or I might." He knew he wouldn't, but he had to say it. "It would be less complicated if we were free . . . to do that."

Miranda shook her head. "No. Something's not right. We've been together a long time-"

"Exactly. We've been together for a long time. Most of our lives, in fact. And I was just a kid. I still am. I'm only sixteen, and I haven't even gotten to live most of those years. Maybe I'm not ready to settle down yet. There's a whole world of options out there. You should see what there is for you."

A silence fell over the room. Miranda did her best not to cry. She never cried. Almost never. She cried when Dylan died and even when Max almost died. But now she was on the verge. It felt like Jump was tearing her heart right out.

"Okay, you want to see what's out there. You want to explore the world. We'll do it together," she offered.

"I need space, Miranda, to figure things out on my own." He looked her in the eye for the first time during their conversation. "But don't wait for me. You deserve better." He held her gaze for as long as he could stand. The hurt look on her face was more than he could bear.

Silently, Miranda got up and left Jump's room. She ignored the many 'are you all right' questions and went straight to her own room. Curling up in a ball on her bed, she pulled the pillow to her face and cried into it.

Jump slumped down into his bean bag chair, still feeling the effects of Miranda's emotions. He furiously wiped away his uncontrollable tears. He hadn't meant most of what he said and he had hurt Miranda. But he thought he was doing the right thing. Maybe he should leave the flock. Or he could actually go to the school. It did have living quarters for anyone that wished to stay there. Miranda deserved someone who could give her the life she wants-eventually. Jump was half a man, he'd never measure up to Fang and Iggy in more ways than one. He closed his eyes and reflected on the events of earlier in the day . . .

mrmrmrmrmrmrmr

Jump sat in a chair, knee bouncing, nervously waiting for Dr. Gates. He looked about the room, eyeing up the many degrees and certificates on the walls. There was a photo of Dr. Gates with Ella and Dr. Martinez on the desk, which seemed to be just a surface to store piles of paper work. Jump found it strange that a dead plant hung in the window. He was about to start counting ceiling tiles when Dr. Gates walked in.

"Jump," Roger held out his hand to shake. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Dr. Schaum cornered me in the hallway." He rolled his eyes.

Jump took his hand as he stood. "Dr. Gates."

"Please, call me Roger." He motioned for Jump to sit.

"I can tell by the look on your face that it's not good news." Jump cut to the chase.

Roger sighed. "I thought I was getting better at 'game face'."

Giving a small smile, Jump admitted, " I can sense how you're feeling too."

"Oh. Right," Roger said. "I can't keep track of all of your, um, talents."

Roger sat at his desk and took a manilla folder from one of the piles.

"I'm not going to sugar coat it, Jump. You're right. It's not good news. I've consulted several other doctors. We've examined your blood work, scans and ultrasounds." Roger sighed heavily. "Everyone concurs. Your condition is irreversible. I'm sorry."

Jump sat quietly. He had some questions, but doubted they were worth asking. He supposed he didn't really need to know the details of how or why he was in the condition he was in at the present time. Maybe he was better off not knowing exactly what the scientists did to him.

"Is there any chance? At all?" Jump was thinking about how Iggy was blind, but now he could sort of see sometimes in certain conditions. If Iggy's eyesight was trying to regenerate itself, perhaps . . .

"No, I'm sorry. What was done, wasn't like a simple vasectomy, as I'd hoped. It was a complicated procedure and , well, frankly, it's been too long to hope for regeneration. There is scarring . . . and certain . . . glands and pathways are completely missing." Roger was attempting to put things in layman's terms. He was also being purposefully vague to avoid embarrassing Jump.

"I don't understand," Jump said. "Why do all that to me? I mean, on one hand they were trying to get me to, um, well, you know, with Miranda. But then why make it impossible for me to get her, uh . . . " Jump stammered, hoping Dr. Gates would know what he was trying to say.

Roger shook his head. "I wish I could tell you. My guess is that there were too many fingers in the pie. Too many differing agendas. They probably didn't even consult with one another."

Jump was silent for a moment or two. "So, I'll never have my own kids."

Roger hesitated mentioning alternatives, but he felt he owed it to Jump to provide as much information as possible to allow him to make informed decisions about his life.

"Well, no. Not per se." Roger paused. "There may be . . . options, though."

Jump sat forward in his seat. "Such as?"

"Valencia will probably kill me for even suggesting it. But, eventually, when you're seriously considering it-many years down the road, I hope- it's possible to incorporate some of your DNA into a zygote. Much the same way as was done to you and the rest of the flock. Of course, it wouldn't only be yours. We'd still require a sperm donor."

"Goat? I don't want my kids to be part goat," Jump said, with a completely straight face.

Roger tried his best to hide his laughter. After all, why would introducing goat genes be any more unusual than bird genes. "Not goat, zygote. It's a fertilized egg, and it has all the information from a man and a woman to create a new being. What I'm suggesting is that once we have a zygote created by Miranda and a, um, genetically compatible male, your DNA can be inserted in several places."

"So the kid would have, like, two dads?" Jump asked.

"Probably more like a dad and a half. Actually, probably even less"

"And I'd be the less." Jump pursed his lips. "Better than nothing, huh?"

Roger blinked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Your attitude is amazing, Jump," Roger told him.

"Would it change anything if I punched the wall or kicked a chair?" Jump deadpanned. It was probably helping Jump that Roger was so calm and clinical.

Roger smiled, "No, but it might make you feel better."

"It would make me feel better to _not_ be an even bigger freak than I thought I was," he answered. "But on the bright side, I can screw around with as many girls as I want without having to worry." His voice was emotionless.

Jump caught Roger off guard with his comment and he sat with his mouth open."Uh, Jump . . ."

"I'm not serious," Jump assured him. "There's only one girl. And she deserves better."

"There's a lot more to being a parent than biology," Roger said. Jump found that ironic. Biology seemed to be everything to Dr. Gates. Genetics was his life. "The flock is a family, even though only Gazzy and Angel are actually related. Jeb is Max's father, and, frankly, they don't have the best relationship." That was putting it mildly. But Jump did notice that things between them were better since Dilly was born. Jeb's _biological_ granddaughter.

"Yeah, I know. But Iggy and Fang really seem to like being dads." Jump stood, ready to leave. "Thanks, doctor . . . Roger."

"We'll talk again when your ready for that next step. Or, anytime really." Roger wanted to keep the line of communication going.

Leaving the office without another word, Jump took his time flying back home. He was in no hurry to answer questions regarding his whereabouts all afternoon. He hadn't told Miranda where he was going and she'd want to know. Jump needed time to think about what he was going to say.

mrmrmrmrmrmrmr

Now that he'd said it, he couldn't take it back. He could still feel how hurt Miranda was when she left his room. There was anger, too. The words genetically compatible kept running through his head. Genetically compatible. He knew that could only mean someone else in the flock. Having Iggy or Fang, or God- even John or Gazzy, step up to fill in for him, was too humiliating to think about.

Emotionally exhausted, he leaned his head back and began to drift off. The last thought going through his mind, was just how much the rest of the flock was going to want to kill him for breaking Miranda's heart.

_Screw it_, he thought, _they don't like me anyway_.

* * *

*** Coming up in future chapters: Nudge and Troy get to know each other better, and Jeb has news to share**

**Thanks for reading!**


	25. making progress

*** I apologize for taking so long to update this story. I had most of it written, then went on vacation for ten days with NO INTERNET! The vacation was great, but I missed my fanfiction fix.**

** I't been a while, so rather than make you go back and reread, I thought I'd put up a little recap of what's going on so far.**

**- Max had her baby, Dylan Ivy, but she wasn't born with wings. They finally started to grow in. And now, they're small with downy feathers. They still don't know if she'll be able to fly.**

**- Nudge, Gazzy and John are planning to go to the new Pierpont Acadamey. Being tutored by Troy, Maeve and Jane. Angel and Sunny don't want to go to school or be tutored, so they made a deal with Jane to help her change her image.**

**- Gazzy found out he has celiac disease and can't eat wheat products. Tried to change his name to Zephyr. Not gassy anymore and can think straighter**

**-John's telepathy is stronger. He can communicate with almost everyone, now, not just Angel and Jump**

**- Ella finally got to know her dad, Roger. And he and Valencia hooked back up. He works at PARC-Pierpont Academy Research Center**

**- Jump and Miranda were dating, but after finding out he's sterile, he broke up with her, so she could move on. But he didn't tell her why.**

**- James is one year old and beginning to learn to fly. Iggy decided he wants a job to take care of his family. Fang too**

**- Max and Fang hit a few rough patches but they're back on track**

**That's it in a nutshell. I'll try my best to update more frequently. Thanks for sticking with it!**

**Remember, when written in the first person, it's Max, unless it's specified to be someone else.**

**I don't have any rights to Maximum Ride, sadly. I'm just borrowing them, because I didn't like ANGEL. **

When I saw Fang walk through the front door, I did a double take. He was smiling. Like, a real smile. It had been so long since he really smiled, I forgot how gorgeous it was. He immediately walked over and kissed me.

"What was that for?"

"I can't kiss my girl just because?" he grinned.

He looked like the cat that ate the canary. Which, considering we're part bird, is a disturbing analogy.

"Oh, wait, you had an interview, didn't you? Did you get the job?" I asked.

"Yep. And without Jeb's help," he smiled again.

"You know he was only trying to help," I reminded him.

"I don't need or want his help," Fang said. "We can take care of ourselves. Well, partly anyway. The job doesn't pay very well, but I think I can work my way up and be a trainer."

I kissed his cheek. "I'm proud of you. So what will you be doing?"

"Cleaning up, mostly. I gotta wash towels and wipe down all the equipment. Some janitorial stuff. But Bob, he's the owner, told me about a training program I might be able to get into."

"You'd be great," I told him. Then I realized he was going to be at work a lot. I was so used to having him around. It was going to be strange to have him gone. I missed him so much when he left the flock a couple of years ago. I knew it wasn't the same, but still . . .

"What's wrong? This is good news." His voice pulled me out of my daydreaming.

"When will you have to work?"

"A lot," he answered. "Every weekend for sure. That's the busiest time. And probably a lot of nights, too. Actually, mostly nights. I could be there until midnight when it's busy."

I pouted. "_Every_ weekend?"

"But I'll be home during the day. I'll still be able to help with Dilly."

"It's not that," I said. "She's been much better since her wings started growing in. By the way, I think she's molting or something. I keep finding downy little feathers all over the place."

"Then what's wrong," he asked.

"I wish you didn't have to be away from us at all. You know, you don't really _have_ to work. Jeb could get us more appearances. And there's still the lawsuit he's been working on."

"No," Fang said flatly. "I need to do this. We'll just make our time together count." Fang glanced around to see if anyone was watching. He put his hands on my hips and pulled me closer until out bellies were touching. When he kissed me, my heart fluttered and I couldn't help wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Gross," a voice said. It was Gazzy. "Don't you have a baby to take care of or something?"

"She's napping," I told him, taking a peek at the video monitor we had set up. "And kissing isn't gross. Someday it'll be all you think about," I laughed.

Fang joined me. "Don't let him fool you. He's already got that on his mind."

"Do not," Gazzy blushed.

"Then what was all that goofy grinning about the other night when we all listened to music with the new kids?"

"What goofy grinning? Maeve and I are just friends."

"I wasn't talking about Maeve," Fang smirked.

I raised my eyebrows and looked at Fang. "Do tell."

Fang must have taken pity on Gazzy, with the expression of panic on his face, because he said he was only teasing. I made a note to ask Fang later what he was talking about.

Gazzy skulked away, muttering to himself.

"Where were we?" Fang asked, and leaned in for another kiss. I liked his renewed confidence. Maybe the job was going to be a good thing, after all. His hand slipped under the hem of my shirt and ran up my back to rub between my wings. I let my hands glide through his silky hair and got completely lost in it. I didn't even try to stop him when he moved his hand around to my front.

"A-hem!" Iggy pointedly yelled. "I really don't enjoy catching you two in this position. Especially in front of my kid." He had James on his shoulders.

We immediately broke apart and murmured our sorries. How does he _always_ know these things?

"Have you seen Dani?" Iggy shook his head. "Of course not, you were a little busy."

"I think she's on the deck." I looked out the back door. "Oh, no, not anymore."

Just then, Dani came out of the powder room.

"There she is," I said.

"Duh. Do you think I can't tell?" Iggy said. "I can tell when my own wife comes into a room."

"You don't have to be so - wife?"

"Girlfriend, whatever." Iggy turned away from me and spoke to Dani. "Are we still taking him flying?"

"Uh, yeah," she said hesitantly.

"Are you sure?" Iggy frowned.

"Yes. Come on little man. Daddy might actually let you get off the ground by yourself today," Dani laughed.

Fang and I watched the three of them walk out the door.

"That might be us in a year," he said. "But even if Dilly's wings don't come in all the way or they don't work or something, it'll be okay."

We had tried not to get our hopes up too much, since Dilly's wings started coming in. They still seemed small and Roger, being the realist, told us that if they didn't get big enough, she may not be able to fly. So we convinced ourselves we were cool with it. But today, Fang seemed to mean it.

Speaking of the little devil, she started making noises in her crib.

"The princess is up. We will definitely have to reschedule what Iggy interrupted," Fang grinned and smacked my behind.

I had to wonder what the heck had gotten into him. He'd never been one for PDAs. Yeah, I decide this job idea was a very good thing.

MRMRMRMRMRMR

Fang had only been working at the gym for about two weeks when he came home one night, exhausted but totally psyched about something. He practically came skipping into the bedroom as I was putting Dilly down.

"Max!"

"Sshhhhh. I just fed her and got her to sleep." Dilly twitched in my arms as I lowered her into the crib. I held her in my arms, hovering over her crib, before ever so gently placing her down. I stood up and crossed my fingers. Once she was out, she was out for the night. It was getting her out that was the hard part. Satisfied, I finally turned to Fang.

"What's got you so pumped?" I whispered.

"I think I got another job."

"Another job? You mean, you'll have two jobs?" I was missing him at night as it was. Weekends sucked. And he had been only working for two weeks.

"No, a different job. Maybe Iggy too." He was actually excited.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's a long story, but basically, there was a guy that came into the gym and tried to start a fight. A big, body builder type. He was hitting on some girl, who happened to be the girlfriend of some rich, famous guy . . . "

"Who?"

Fang shrugged. "I guess he's not famous enough for me to know who he is. But that doesn't matter. So this guy hits on her and her escort tells him to stop . . . "

"Escort? Like a body guard?"

"Stop interrupting," he said impatiently. "No, he was more like a chaperone. Some skinny guy to make sure she didn't do anything stupid. And to keep paparazzi away."

"Is she famous, too?"

"I don't know," he said, exasperated. "_Anyway_ . . . that first guy pushed the chaperone guy down and I stepped in. 'Cause, there was no way he was going to be able to defend himself," Fang laughed. "He may as well have been carrying a purse."

I frowned. "That's not nice. Not every skinny guy has freakishly superhuman strength."

Fang rolled his eyes at me. "Do you want to hear this or not?"

I shut my mouth.

"So, anyway, I took everyone by surprise, to say the least. Especially muscle guy. And the chaperone takes me aside and tells me that his client needs a bodyguard." Fang chuckled, "He actually used the word client."

"And you told him you were interested? Isn't that going to be longer hours than you have now?"

"Not if Iggy and I share it. I figured that we can split the time. The money would be for all of us anyway."

"And this guy was okay recommending a blind bodyguard?" I asked.

Fang scratched the back of his neck. "I may have left that part out. It's not like we've got the job already. We've got to go and meet the guy, show him what we can do, stuff like that. I didn't want him to have ideas about Iggy before he even met him."

Fang seemed to have thought things through. Surprisingly.

"Does he know you're a bird kid?"

"I'm not a kid."

"You know what I mean. Do these people know who you are?" I questioned.

"No. I don't think so. I always wear my hoodie at work," he told me. "Nobody said anything."

"Make sure it stays that way. Just because we haven't had anybody come after us in a while, doesn't mean they won't," I warned.

MRMRMRMRMRMR

Troy, Jane and Maeve showed up at their usual time, went off in their usual corners, with their usual flock members to tutor. Or not, as the case may be.

"I think we should cut your hair," Angel said.

Jane covered her braid. "But I've always had long hair."

"Maybe that's the problem," Sunny suggested. "You need something sassy."

"Sassy? Me?"

"Yeah," Angel agreed. "You know, when people look at you, they see glasses and a braid. They think 'brainiac' before you even say anything."

"You know this for real?" Jane asked.

"Trust me," Angel said. "Technically speaking, I'm not supposed to be invading other people's minds. But, when we meet knew people, it's in the name of reconnaissance. I checked you three out right away." Angel told her. "You can just forget about Fang, by the way. No matter how good we make you look, it's Fang and Max forever."

Jane blushed. She wondered what else Angel knew about her. And the others.

"Troy's a tough one to figure out. His thoughts are all over the place," Angel laughed. "But he definitely sees you as a girl with a 'nice personality'. Pretty much everyone has the same opinion."

Jane slumped.

"But that's a good thing," Sunny said. "That means people like you. They think you're smart and nice. Now you just have to get them to notice that you're pretty, too."

"But I'm not. I wear glasses and braces."

"Those things don't make you ugly. Lots of people have them," Sunny pointed out.

"None of you wear glasses. Or braces."

"Okay, so none of us need glasses, but our teeth won't be as straight as yours." Sunny removed the glasses from Jane's face and held her bangs off her forehead. "You have pretty colored eyes."

"I wish they were almost black, like yours."

Sunny laughed. "I wish mine were blue. Maybe we should get contacts."

"You girls really need to learn to like what you've got," Angel chimed in.

Both girls looked at her blankly.

"Well, if we looked like you, we wouldn't complain," Sunny said.

"I already look like me. You need to look like you. Small changes are okay, but don't go too drastic."

"Should we get Nudge in on this?" Sunny asked.

"I think we're gonna have to. She'll know what to do," Angel agreed. "In the meantime, Jane, you've got to loosen up. I mean, who dresses you?"

"I usually wear a uniform to school. What's wrong with this?" Jane looked down at her outfit.

"It's not that bad, but unbutton the shirt a little, and lose the vest. Even I know they're not in style," Sunny giggled. "There won't be uniforms at Pierpont. We need Nudge, now."

"But Troy is tutoring her," Angel said. "And no way are we going to tear her away from him."

"Why not?" Sunny was still naive in some ways despite her overall maturity.

Angel looked at her is if to say 'duh'.

"She likes him? Does he like her?"

"I told you, he's hard to figure out." Angel answered. "Sometimes I think he does, then other times, it seems like he's . . . it's hard to explain." Angel paused. "Actually, it's not. He thinks about sex constantly. But he's not really sure what it's all about. He's kind of emotional. Maybe I ought to see if Jump can pick up anything."

"Maybe you shouldn't be reading his thoughts, Angel," Sunny warned. "That's really personal stuff."

In all seriousness, Angel said, "But if he's thinking those things about Nudge, don't you think somebody should know?"

"Fang will kill him," Sunny said gravely.

"Is Fang overprotective?" Jane asked.

"No," Sunny clarified. "I meant that literally. Fang might actually kill him. Remember Jump? And all he did was kiss her."

Jane perked up. There seemed to be some juicy gossip about the flock.

"He kissed Nudge? I thought he and Miranda were dating."

"They were, but Jump just broke up with her," Sunny said.

"Yeah, there's more to that story too. I can't get much from him, because he's getting better at blocking me."

Curious about the flock, Jane continued questioning. "What about Iggy and Dani? Why aren't they married?"

Angel shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think it ever came up. Why?"

"Just curious. What about Ze-oh wait, what's his name?"

Sunny giggled. "Gazzy. What about him?"

"Do you like him?" Jane asked.

"Why? Do you?"

"I don't really have an opinion one way or another," Jane said. "I haven't had a chance to talk to anyone except you two. Oh, that reminds me, I have study guides for you."

"Study guides? The whole point was _not_ having to study," Angel said.

"It's just the answers to a quiz I'm supposed to give you. It's word for word. Memorize it for the quiz and you're done."

Sunny took the paper and looked at it. "It's not that bad, Angel. Ten questions. We can do that."

Angel took hers. "I have a better idea. When we take tests and quizzes, Jane can feed me the answers telepathically. Then I'll send them to you. I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner."

Sunny tossed her paper aside. "Perfect."

Jane was disappointed. She was hoping to get the girls to learn a little something. She thought memorizing the answers would be better than nothing. But it seemed Angel had a way around that. She sighed. Well, it wasn't her problem.

Suddenly, Angel sat up straighter. "Nudge and Troy are taking a break. Now's the time to grab her. Sunny, can you get him away from her for a minute, so I can bring her in here. Once she starts with fashion and hair and stuff, she won't want to leave. It's getting her in here that's tricky."

"What should I do?"

"He's thinking about training. Maybe you could suggest he go watch Iggy and Fang. Is Fang still home?"

"He doesn't go to work until 5," Sunny told her.

"Go. Quick." Angel pushed Sunny out the door and peeked around the corner to watch.

Sunny glanced outside and saw Fang and Iggy doing some exercises. She kept walking into the Great room and saw Troy sitting on the couch while Nudge was in the kitchen getting drinks.

"Hi," Sunny smiled her sweetest smile.

"Hi," Troy said back.

"What are you up to?" she asked.

"Taking a break right now. Shouldn't you be with Jane and Angel?"

"We're taking a break too. I thought I'd go watch Iggy and Fang fight."

"They're fighting?" he questioned.

"You know, just for training. Do you like to exercise? Maybe you could join them," Sunny suggested.

"Wait, we're not finished yet," Nudge protested.

"Just for a little bit," Troy said as he followed Sunny out the door.

Nudge growled.

"Nudge, come here for a sec," Angel called.

Sighing heavily, Nudge put down the drinks she got for Troy and herself and walked to Angel's room.

"What's up?" she asked.

Angel pulled her inside. "We need your help with something. We're trying to decide how to cut Jane's hair, and what kind of clothes she should wear."

Nudge put her hands on her hips. "You're supposed to be studying in here."

"We're done," Angel said curtly. "What do you think?" she asked, gesturing to Jane.

Nudge walked over to Jane and undid her braid. "Actually, your hair is nice. It just needs a style. Maybe some layers," she said as she spread her fingers through it.

"Do you know how to cut hair?" Jane asked nervously.

"I've trimmed the boys' hair from time to time."

"Are you any good?"

Nudge laughed. "Well, I'm better than Max. She uses a machete." Angel laughed with her.

Angel pulled some clothes from a pile that didn't fit her any more. "Can you do something with these, Nudge?"

Nudge pawed through the pile, picking out a few shirts and a skirt she never saw Angle wear. "I could sew some flowers on this. And maybe hem this. I could turn this long sleeve shirt into a t-shirt." She put the clothes in her lap and paused. "Wait, why are we doing this?"

"Because I want to look cool for a change," Jane answered. "Nudge, you're so stylish all the time."

"I am, aren't I," Nudge joked. "I'll work on these. How about we look up some hairstyles on the computer?"

Sunny walked in and gave Angel a thumbs up on the down low. Angel was right. Nudge forgot all about Troy, once she started on Project Jane. And Troy was hooked, watching the boys train. The girls spent the next half hour finding pictures of hair cuts Jane liked, then Nudge printed them out.

"So, we'll have to do this next time, Jeb will be here soon to pick up." Angel noticed the time.

"Maybe Jane can sleep over on Thursday, when they come to tutor," Sunny said. "Do you think you could?" she asked Jane.

"Probably. My parents are always busy anyway. They wouldn't notice if I was gone."

Nudge narrowed her eyes at Angel and Sunny. "If you're spending so much time trying to do a makeover on Jane, how are you learning anything? You're supposed to be getting ready for school."

"Are you learning anything besides the color of Troy's eyes?" Angel smirked.

Nudge blew a raspberry at Angel.

"I am learning stuff. I'm getting better at math," Nudge said. "And do you have any ideas how many wars the United States has been part of? It's crazy." She shook her head. "That's part of the reason we're here. Troy says that the government started trying to build super people to fight in wars. And not just our government. That's why we kept finding facilities all over the world. I wonder how many other people there are like us."

"There could be thousands," Jane said. "I've heard my parents talking about it too."

"And if you must know, his eyes are milk chocolatey brown with little flecks of olive green," Nudge giggled.

"Be careful, there, Nudge" Angel warned. "He seems a bit confused about stuff. I get conflicting thoughts from him all the time."

Nudge gasped. "Angel! You're not supposed to be doing that."

"Hey, I'm protecting my family. We don't know these guys that well." Angel glanced at Jane. "No offense."

"None taken. It's a wise precaution, given everything you've been through," Jane agreed. "I assumed you've been keeping tabs on my thoughts all along."

Nudge narrowed her eyes, "But, still . . . " Then she couldn't resist asking, "Does he like me?"

Angel cocked her head, thinking. "I think so. He likes your company. But sometimes I get the feeling he thinks of you as more like one of the guys."

"Oh," Nudge slumped.

"But then, he thinks a lot about kissing. Maybe he's thinking about kissing you? His thoughts are just hard to sort out."

Nudge sat up a little straighter.

Hearing a car outside, Sunny pulled the curtain away from the window. "Jeb's here."

She noticed Troy, still out with Fang and Iggy. Fang was showing him how to block a punch from Iggy. He seemed eager to learn their fighting methods and was studying Fang and Iggy's moves closely. There was something about Troy that made Sunny uneasy. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she was glad Angel was monitoring him.


End file.
